Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years behind bars for a rape he did not commit, has been cleared by the Court of Appeal.

The 57-year-old was found guilty of raping a woman from Kearsley in Little Hulton in 2003 and the following year he was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years.

But his conviction was quashed by senior judges on Wednesday, after DNA evidence came to light which linked another potential suspect to the crime.

Overturning his convictions, for two counts of rape and one of choking or strangling with intent to commit rape, Lord Justice Holroyde said Mr Malkinson could “leave the court free and no longer be subject to the conditions of licence”.

At the time of Mr Malkinson’s trial, there was no DNA evidence linking him to the crime and the prosecution case against him was based solely on identification evidence.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) conceded that Mr Malkinson’s conviction was unsafe because the new DNA evidence points to another man, who the court ordered can only be identified as Mr B, and said there “must now be a real possibility” that man will be charged over the attack.

The CPS and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed in May they would not contest the appeal.

Lord Justice Holroyde said other points argued by Mr Malkinson’s legal team, about “crucial” material that was not disclosed at the time of his trial, “raised a number of substantial and important points” and the court would take time to consider them and give a decision on them later in writing.

He added: “However, we must keep Mr Malkinson waiting no longer to know the outcome of his appeal.”

At the preliminary hearing in May, Edward Henry KC, representing Mr Malkinson, told the court the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates possible miscarriages of justice and referred Mr Malkinson’s case to the Court of Appeal, had been aware since 2009 that there was “crime-specific” DNA which was not a match for either Mr Malkinson or the victim.

However, he said at that time the CCRC “did not consider it tipped the balance towards a referral” to the Court of Appeal.

In October last year, the sample was found to be a partial match for another man, who the court ordered can only be identified as Mr B.

Mr Malkinson previously applied twice for his case to be reviewed by the CCRC but was turned down, eventually being released from prison in December 2020.

After his release, advancements in scientific techniques allowed his legal team, supported by legal charity Appeal, to provide new DNA analysis that cast doubt on his conviction to the CCRC.

The body then commissioned its own testing which found that DNA from the victim’s clothing matched another man on the national police database.

 Mr Malkinson's barrister told the court on Wednesday that because he maintained he was innocent and “would not falsely confess to abhorrent crimes which he did not commit”, Mr Malkinson served a further 10 years in jail after his tariff expired.

GMP confirmed in January that a man had been arrested and released under investigation in light of the new information, but no decision has been made as to whether he will be charged.

Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson said: "We are truly sorry to Mr Malkinson that he is the victim of such a grave miscarriage of justice, in being convicted of a crime he did not commit and serving a 17-year custodial sentence.

"Whilst we hope this outcome gives him a long overdue sense of justice, we acknowledge that it does not return the years he has lost. I have offered to meet with him to personally deliver this apology.

"We are also profoundly sorry to the victim of this crime, who not only suffered an horrific trauma 20 years ago, but also relived the experience during a criminal trial, and now may endure additional harm caused by learning that the true offender has not yet been brought to justice. We are absolutely committed to following all new lines of enquiry to ensure the right person is held accountable for harming her.

"Whilst this case tragically led to the wrong person being convicted, these instances are thankfully very rare.

"Following an appeal heard by the Court of Appeal in 2006, and two reviews by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), a full and thorough review of the original investigation was carried out by GMP. The force has and will continue to fully cooperate with any further reviews of this case and action will be taken if it is found that anything could have been done differently.

In the vast majority of cases, the processes our officers follow lead to a case being presented to the CPS whereby the suspect and evidence collected were relevant to the crime committed.

"The evidence presented by GMP and the CPS at court between 2003-2004 was subject to a full criminal trial before a jury, who ultimately reached the final guilty verdict. Sadly, in this case it is now clear that the wrong person was convicted.

"Due to new forensic evidence, following developments in forensic technologies, there is a live criminal investigation in which a suspect remains on bail. We cannot comment further on that matter at this time.

"We are sorry that in this case, the judicial process failed, and the wrong man was convicted. We are determined to work with our colleagues in the CPS to ensure all new evidence is fully examined and that the person truly responsible is convicted and the victim of this horrific crime receives the justice deserved."