Manchester barrister Elizabeth Nicholls has made legal history in the case of Martin Foran, who has become the only person to have two separate miscarriages of justice overturned by the Court of Appeal.
In a judgment handed down on Friday, the appeal court quashed Foran’s 1978 conviction for robbery after hearing Nicholls’ appeal that evidence from the notorious West Midlands Serious Crime Squad was unsafe.
Miss Nicholls led Mr Foran’s first successful appeal in 2013 for a robbery conviction dating back to 1984.
Foran protested his innocence throughout both trials and whilst in prison. In 1982 he spent over 47 days on the roof of HMP Nottingham, after he was convicted in June 1978 on four counts, involving three robberies and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on each.
At the time of his first trial local media reports associated him with the then very recent Birmingham pub bombings and he was attacked in prison by prisoners who accused him of IRA links.
He became friendly with members of the Birmingham Six who supported his fight for justice both during his sentences and after his release.
Elizabeth Nicholls is a barrister in Lincoln House Chambers in Manchester and was instructed by Olliers Solicitors.