Jimmy Robinson emerges victorious

Bridgewater Three Finally Cleared

Three judges overturned the murder convictions of James Robinson, Michael Hickey and Vincent Hickey. They also threw out the manslaughter conviction of the late Patrick Molloy.

Lord Justice Roch told a packed Court Number Four at the Royal Courts of Justice in London: "We state immediately the outcome of these appeals. The appeals of all four appellants will be allowed and their convictions quashed."

Lord Justice Roch then went on to give the court's reasons for overturning the convictions.

James Robinson and Vincent Hickey, along with relatives and supporters, were present. Michael Hickey was said to be too ill to attend.

Central to the success of the appeal was the confession to the crime by Patrick Molloy. Lord Justice Roch said it was now clear the confession obtained by deceit. Electrostatic tests carried out on the paper have shown inconsistencies in time and handwriting. He said it was therefore inadmissible as evidence.

Patrick Molloy's confession was "obtained by deceit"

Without Molloy's confession, the Crown conceded there could never have been a prosecution of the other three. He said Molloy's conviction was unsafe and therefore so were those of the other three.

After the hearing, the men expressed their delight at having the convictions quashed. But they were disappointed the judges had not gone further with the ruling. In particular, they wanted action taken against the police.

Jimmy Robinson said: "It's the same old story. The police come up smelling of roses."

Michael Hickey's mother, Ann Whelan, who came out of the court clasping a large bouquet of flowers, said: "It is a wonderful day, but we are not past the fact that we shouldn't have been here at all.

All reasserted their desire to see a full independent inquiry.