Christopher Poulter and Kevin Biggs, along with a third man Stephen Simmons, were found guilty at Inner London Crown Court of stealing mail bags from Clapham Goods Yard in 1976. Poulter was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment and Biggs to borstal training. Their cases were referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (“CCRC”) on the basis of fresh evidence coming to light. The officer who had arrested them, DS Derek Ridgewell, was himself convicted of conspiracy to steal goods from a railway depot in 1980 and sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment. Ridgewell died in 1982. The Court of Appeal held that Ridgewell’s subsequent conviction undermined the safety of Poulter and Biggs’ convictions.
Steven Powles KC represented Poulter and Biggs (who passed away in 2004, his appeal was brought by his daughter), instructed by Jenny Wiltshire of Hickman and Rose. Jenny Wiltshire and Steven Powles also represented Simmons, whose successful appeal in 2018 led to 12 other people, where DS Ridgewell’s credibility was central to the prosecution, having their cases referred to the Court of Appeal by the CCRC. All convictions were quashed.