Sir John May

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The Right hon. Sir John May was a former Court of Appeal judge appointed by the British Government to investigate the miscarriages of justice related to the Maguire Seven and other miscarriages linked to IRA bombing offences^[1].

On 20 October 1989 following the quashing of the Guildford Four convictions, May was appointed to inquire into both that and the related case of the Maguire Seven.^[2] On 12 July 1990, the Home Secretary David Waddington published the interim report

Interim Report on the Maguire Case : The Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the convictions arising out of the bomb attacks in Guildford and Woolwich in 1974^[3]

The report criticised the trial judge John Donaldson. It unearthed improprieties in the handling of scientific evidence that were also relevant to the other cases and declared the convictions unsound and recommended referral back to the Court of Appeal.

[edit] RARDE scientific tests

The Inquiry found that RARDE scientists Walter Elliott and Douglas Higgs had lied and suppressed evidence at the trials of both Judith Ward and the Maguire Seven^[4]. They knew but did not say that a positive result was not unique for nitroglycerine. They did not disclose, even to the prosecution, negative secondary tests.

The terms of reference of the initial inquiry were expanded, as a result, to include

The preparation of court evidence by expert witnesses
The advance disclosure of scientific findings
The authorisation of prosecutions based on scientific evidence
Home Office assessment of scientific evidence after miscarriage claims

[edit] Royal Commission on Criminal Justice

On 14 March 1991, the inquiry became the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice covering the systemic problems uncovered earlier.The commission was chaired by Viscount Runciman of Doxford.