A6 Rebooted

[ansonman]

The Matthews Report is now available at https://discovery.nationalarchives.g...ls/r/C20846951

Many thanks indeed for the update.

It’s not the report but rather a briefing note that commences at page 35. Presumably the previous pages comprise the report. Nonetheless, it’s fascinating and you deserve much recognition for having obtained it.

l downloaded it earlier today for free. Essentially, Matthews concludes that Hanratty’s conviction was unsafe and recommendeds that the case be referred to the Court of Appeal. He doesn’t say who he thinks committed the murder but says that the case against Alphon was much greater than the case against Hanratty.

What stands out for me, and which l was unaware of, is the ID parade in which Storie eventually identified Hanratty. Matthew’s makes the following observation:

”It would appear that his (Hanratty) was the only London accent among members of the parade”.

Unbelievable.

Thanks again djw.

Ansonman

[djw]

I think 35 is the page numbering applied by the National Archives (or someone other than Matthews). You can see on page 45, Matthews refers to the outset of the paper where he suggests referring the case to the Court of Appeal which is on page 35. The National Archives held the Appeal documents in several batches and the Matthews report was held within a batch of the appeal.

[OneRound]

Many thanks indeed for the update.

It’s not the report but rather a briefing note that commences at page 35. Presumably the previous pages comprise the report. Nonetheless, it’s fascinating and you deserve much recognition for having obtained it.

l downloaded it earlier today for free. Essentially, Matthews concludes that Hanratty’s conviction was unsafe and recommendeds that the case be referred to the Court of Appeal. He doesn’t say who he thinks committed the murder but says that the case against Alphon was much greater than the case against Hanratty.

What stands out for me, and which l was unaware of, is the ID parade in which Storie eventually identified Hanratty. Matthew’s makes the following observation:

”It would appear that his (Hanratty) was the only London accent among members of the parade”.

Unbelievable.

Thanks again djw.

Ansonman

Hi again Ansonman - been a while.

At James Hanratty's posthumous appeal in 2010, Michael Mansfield QC, acting upon behalf of the family, referred to the ID parade as ''incurably unfair''. I can only agree with that and firmly believe that Hanratty was shamefully let down at the time by his solicitor Emmanuel Kleinman who raised no objection.

In case of interest, the use of volunteers or stooges at ID parades and some personal experiences have recently been discussed on the Bible John: A New Suspect thread.

I'll comment separately about Matthews more generally.

Best regards,
OneRound