George launches pay–out test case

Published on 18/10/2012 00:00

Barry George, the man who spent eight years in prison 
after being wrongly convicted of the murder of the television presenter Jill Dando, yesterday launched a test case bid to overturn a “defective” decision denying him compensation.

Mr George, 52, who was cleared after a retrial in 2008, is seeking a High Court ruling in London that could open the way for him to claim an award of up to £500,000.

His case is one of five test cases that have been assembled for judges to decide who is now entitled to payments in “miscarriages of justice” cases after a landmark decision by
the Supreme Court in May last year.

Mr George’s claim for damages for lost earnings and wrongful imprisonment had been rejected by the Ministry of Justice on the grounds that he was not legally entitled to compensation.