Appeal court reform

Your recent article on the Sally Clark case ( see [2001] Gazette, 7 June, 9) reflected the widespread concern about her conviction among those who have looked at it closely.It perhaps did not make clear that the Court of Appeal accepted criticism of the damning use of statistics but still went on to find the conviction safe.There is a growing number of similar cases where the court has admitted fresh evidence as meeting the criteria set out in the the 1995 Criminal Appeal Act but gone on nevertheless to uphold the conviction.

Last December it dismissed the appeal of Eddie Gilfoyle, a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, despite the fact that there was so much fresh evidence the case bore no resemblance to the one heard by the jury.

So concerned have I been about this trend that I have convened and will chair a meeting to be addressed by Michael Mansfield QC and solicitor Jim Nichol at the Conway Hall in London on 4 July at 6pm to discuss whether Parliament needs to redefine the role of the Court of Appeal.Campbell J Malone, Stephensons, Bolton