A man has had his case referred to the Crown Court after the miscarriage of justice watchdog revealed major disclosure failures by the police.

Matthew Betts was found guilty of two counts of assault by beating at St Albans Magistrates’ Court in January 2020. He was sentenced to two fines and a restraining order in respect of the victim. The offences occurred in January and February 2019 and Betts had been arrested in March 2019 and questioned by police.  After he was convicted, Betts applied to the Crown Court to apply for an extension of time to appeal his conviction. This was refused in September 2021.

Betts applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in November 2021 citing the victim’s own interview with the police where, according to the commission, ‘she allegedly said she did not want to make any allegations against him’. As a result of the CCRC’s investigation, a report was discovered that was not disclosed to his’ defence at the time of his conviction including three accounts of the incident, which had they been made available, would have helped his defence. ‘Importantly, there were discrepancies between the undisclosed accounts by the prosecution witnesses, and the disclosed accounts,’ the CCRC says.

The CCRC has now concluded that if there were to be a re-hearing of his case at the Crown Court, there would a real possibility he would not be convicted of either of the two offences.