Court told of rising concern over 'false confession' for 1990 shopkeeper murder

There is a "growing crescendo of concern" from psychological experts that a vulnerable man was convicted of murder on the basis of a false confession, the court of appeal heard yesterday.

- Emily Dugan

Oliver Campbell was convicted of murdering an east London shopkeeper Baldev Hoondle 33 years ago after telling police he had shot him. But Campbell, 53, suffered profound brain injuries as a baby, leaving him with significantly impaired cognitive ability.

Campbell was "humiliated" by police in "disgraceful" interviews in the wake of the murder in the summer of 1990, the court heard. Many were not recorded or conducted with a lawyer present and his subsequent "confessions" were described as "simply absurd" and having "a litany of inconsistencies."

The case is being considered in a two-day hearing at the court of appeal by its vice president, Lord Justice Tim Holroyde, alongside Dame Mary Stacey and Sir Charles Bourne. The Crown Prosecution Service is opposing the appeal and will present its evidence today.

In what could transpire to be one of Britain's longest-running miscarriages of justice, Campbell's case was referred for appeal in 2022 by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), having been rejected by them nearly two decades ago.