THE Bishop of Stepney, Dr Joanne Grenfell, wrote to the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, last month, calling for a review of the case of a man who protests his innocence of murder.

The man, Jason Moore, was convicted in 2013 of the murder of Robert Darby, who was stabbed to death outside an east London pub in 2005. The prosecution relied on the testimony of a single eyewitness. Mr Moore has always maintained that he did not commit the crime.

Dr Grenfell’s letter argues that the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) examined the case and opted not to put it forward for appeal, but that their analysis of the case wrongly suggested that there had been a second witness.

It later emerged, during an investigation by a local newspaper, the Romford Recorder, that the sole witness had been drunk at the time. None the less, the CCRC declined to reopen its file on the case; so Mr Moore had to start the process again.

In her letter, Dr Grenfell praises Ms Mahmood for seeking the removal of the chair of the CCRC, Helen Pitcher, and suggests that the case-review system needs to be overhauled, especially in the light of the acquittal last year of Andrew Malkinson, who had served 17 years in prison.

The CCRC twice failed to review Mr Malkinson’s case, citing concerns about costs, The Guardian has reported.

“Systemic issues” with the “capacity, competence, and integrity of the CCRC” justified calls for “a review of all outstanding cases that the CCRC has ignored under the previous government”, Dr Grenfell writes.

She refers to the support of Mr Darby’s family as a further reason that there was a compelling case for a review of Mr Moore’s conviction: “In a remarkable display of unity, both families have joined forces to try to quash Jason’s conviction, as they both believe he is innocent.”