A man who spent 17 years behind bars after being wrongly convicted of rape wants the head of a criminal review board to be sacked after finding similar failings in a case in Redditch. 

Andrew Malkinson spoke out after his legal team discovered striking similarities between his ordeal and an earlier case involving Victor Nealon. 

The former postman, Mr Nealon, who is in his 50s and originally from Dublin, was found guilty in 1996 of the attempted rape of a woman in Redditch and served 17 years in jail. 

Mr Nealon and Mr Malkinson both applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) asking for their cases to go to the Court of Appeal but were rejected twice. 

Both cases were based on identification evidence alone with the presence of another man's DNA in saliva on the victim's clothing eventually clearing their names. 

In Mr Nealon's case, a CCRC internal review in 2013 found the forensic evidence that cleared him could have been discovered as early as 2003. 

Redditch Advertiser: Andrew Malkinson has found similarities to the case of Victor Nealon Andrew Malkinson has found similarities to the case of Victor Nealon (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

It said: "It is possible that the cellular material might have been discovered had relevant resting been arranged in 2003 when this matter was reviewed for a second time. 

"Equally, it is possible that DNA profiles would have been obtained had that material been tested." 

Mr Nealon had applied for his conviction to be reviewed by the CCRC in 1998 and 2002, but was rejected, eventually succeeding in 2010 after his lawyers commissioned DNA testing.

Mr Nealon's conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in December 2013 after the new DNA evidence was unearthed. 

The 2013 CCRC review recommended that a trawl be carried out of similar cases to identify missed opportunities around DNA, but despite the parallels with Mr Malkinson’s case, it was not re-examined.

A government-commissioned inquiry and an internal CCRC investigation are being carried out into the failings in Mr Malkinson’s case.

He said: "This report proves there has been a serious corporate failure at the CCRC yet the body's chair, Helen Pitcher, still refused to apologise to me. She should be sacked and stripped of her OBE. 

"Everyone can see that the CCRC's failings cost me extra years suffering in prison for a crime I did not commit. A real leader would not be holding back an apology until inquiries spell that out. 

"New scientific discoveries are made every day, yet it did not even occur to the CCRC to use new DNA advances to spare myself and Victor Nealon extra years wrongly imprisoned." 

A CCRC spokesman said the commission cannot “engage in a detailed discussion” about the case while its own inquiry and the government probe are ongoing.

He went on: “Following the quashing of Mr Malkinson’s conviction the CCRC commissioned an independent review into Mr Malkinson’s case, led by barrister Chris Henley KC, to understand the broader issues of the case.

“This review, together with the independent inquiry set up by the Ministry of Justice, should provide the answers Mr Malkinson and the CCRC seek.

“CCRC chairman Helen Pitcher OBE has previously acknowledged the profound impact that Mr Malkinson’s wrongful conviction has had on his life and the unacceptable time he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit.

“She has offered to meet Mr Malkinson once the Henley Review and independent inquiry have been concluded.”