Wrongly jailed man in hunger strike threat over Christmas

Michael O'Brien said he had more than £37,000 deducted from his compensation to cover his living costs while in prison for a crime he did not commit

A miscarriage of justice victim has threatened to go on hunger strike at Christmas in protest over compensation costs.

Michael O'Brien spent a decade in prison after he was one of three men wrongly convicted of killing Cardiff newsagent Phillip Saunders in 1987.

Mr O'Brien is campaigning for changes to compensation pay-outs.

He claimed that more than £37,000 was deducted from his award to cover his living costs while in prison.

A reinvestigation of the murder of newsagent Phillip Saunders began in 2003 but found no further evidence

The debate has reignited following the case of Andrew Malkinson, 57, who was cleared of a rape he did not commit, who called the rules "kind of sick".

The UK government has said it has no plans for changes but keeps all laws under review.

In a statement, Mr O'Brien - who was one of the men known as the Cardiff Newsagent Three - said he "will be fasting for justice and refusing my Christmas meals over the festive period and starting a hunger strike starting on Christmas Day.

"I want to express my anger at the continuing victimisation of innocent people."

The rules date back to a decision made in 2007 by the House of Lords when Mr O'Brien and others tried to appeal against deductions for their prison board and lodgings.

It said that money could be deducted from compensation for "saved living expenses".

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Fairness is a core part of our justice system, which is why we acted swiftly to amend the guidelines to remove the possibility of having deductions made for saved living expenses in the future.

"There are long-standing principles that mean changes such as this would not be applied retrospectively, but as the lord chancellor has previously said, he is considering all options."