I want to thank the more than 162,000 of you who signed my petition calling for an apology from the case review body which needlessly perpetuated by wrongful conviction and forced me to spent extra years in prison for a crime I did not commit.

This week, your support paid off. Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) Chair Helen Pitcher offered me an unreserved apology. After receiving a damning independent report on the CCRC's handling of my case, she has finally accepted that her organisation failed me.

I feel vindicated by this - but it really is too little too late. If Helen Pitcher was a true leader, she would have apologised to me last year when I started this petition.

The challenge now is to achieve a real overhaul of the CCRC, so that going forward doesn't fail other innocent people like me. This means making the CCRC transparent and accountable, including bringing in a new Chair with a proven track record of fighting injustice.

The legal charity APPEAL, which helped to exonerate me, will be campaigning for exactly this. You can support their work with a donation here and stay updated on their campaigning by signing up here.

Thank you for your support,
Andrew Malkinson