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When Stephen Downing walked free yesterday after serving 27 years for a crime he probably never committed it was not

When Stephen Downing walked free yesterday after serving 27 years for a crime he probably never committed, it was not startling new evidence that cleared his path. Although forensic science and the dogged work of a local journalist have thrown up a whole raft of inconsistencies in his conviction, it was a procedural travesty that gave him his liberty, a glaring error that had been staring lawyers in the face for more than 25 years.Quite simply, when Mr Downing was arrested in September 1973 for the murder of Wendy Sewell, he was questioned from 2.30pm until 11pm before being charged. He was not cautioned until 10.30pm and, according to police statements still in existence, heappears never to have beentold he was entitled to see asolicitor.According to Julian Bevan QC, representing the Crown at the Court of Appeal yesterday, there is reason to believe Mr Downing, then a 17-year-old with a mental age of 11, asked for a solicitor but was denied one. All these omissions and denials represent serious breaches of the Judges' Rules on interrogation and would have rendered his confession - the main plank of the prosecution - inadmissible. Astonishingly, however, they were never used in court by Mr Downing's original defence counsel, the late Dennis Barker QC, so his statement - which he had alreadyretracted - was read out to the jury.It was not until the Criminal Cases Review Commission began re-examining the case three years ago that the admissibility of the confessions (one verbal, one written) was questioned."This point has lain dormant for over 25 years and has been sitting there, obvious to any criminal lawyer, and has been completely missed," said Mr Bevan, who, far from opposing bail until the appeal, actually echoed concerns raised by Mr Downing's counsel, Edward Fitzgerald QC.

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"I am happy to accept in this case there is a very real possibility that the rights he was entitled to were never brought to his attention," Mr Bevan added. "All the indications are that they were not."Applying present-day standards, the Crown recognises that a failure to inform a prisoner in custody of his rights would be regarded as a serious breach, as, of course, would a failure to caution a suspect at the appropriate moment."Seventy miles away at Littlehey prison, Cambridgeshire, the technical nature of the release seemed academic. Mr Downing, who was entitled to parole 10 years ago but continued to protest his innocence, emerged at 4.15pm, wearing a loose-fitting new suit, looking slightly bewildered but smiling broadly.He shook the hand of the prison officer who let him through the gates and thanked those who had campaigned for him. Then he was whisked away by representatives of a Sunday newspaper.Mr Downing's release is a victory for Don Hale, editor of the Matlock Mercury.

Mr Hale has been investigating the case for more than six years, gathering fresh witness statements and highlighting forensic flaws that, he believes, point to the murder having been committed by someone else.Mrs Sewell, 32, died two days after suffering severe head wounds in the cemetery where Mr Downing worked. He found her, still alive, and alerted other workmen but he was soon arrested by police because he had blood on his trousers and used a pick axe handle in his work - the same kind of implement used to attack the victim.It is now known that the blood on Mr Downing's trousers had already begun to clot before he knelt in it. Independent forensic scientists have confirmed that other spots of blood on his clothing could have been sprayed there by Mrs Sewell as she struggled to breathe.In his "confession", Mr Downing said he sexually assaulted Mrs Sewell, yet an autopsy later showed he had not. And Mr Hale has found no fewer than six witnesses who said they saw Mr Downing leave the cemetery while Mrs Sewell was still alive.One alternative theory for the murder relates to Mrs Sewell's promiscuity. She had had a number of lovers in the area - a fact that led to her being cruelly named the Bakewell Tart - and it is thought one might have become jealous of the others.Such revelations have been painfully unpalatable for Mrs Sewell's husband, David, who still lives in the cottage near Bakewell that he shared with her and remains convinced of Mr Downing's guilt.Outside the High Court yesterday, Mr Sewell said: "He was found guilty, he has done his time and they've let him out on a procedural matter. If I see him on the street, I won't speak to him, but I won't run away."An awful lot of lies have been published about my wife over the years, some of them absolutely disgraceful. I think her memory deserved better than that."In Bakewell, they were preparing to celebrate Mr Downing's return.

His parents, Ray and Juanita, were also in the company of the Sunday paper yesterday, but in an interview last month, Mrs Downing said: "It has been like a dream, waiting for the day to be told he is to be found not guilty."We've had highs and lows, and I've learnt to suppress those feelings. But when he walks through the door I shall want to hug him to death.". The Libyan found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people were killed, announced his intention yesterday to appeal against his conviction. The Libyan found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people were killed, announced his intention yesterday to appeal against his conviction. Lawyers acting for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi lodged notice of his intention to appeal with the Justiciary Office in Edinburgh.They now have six weeks to provide a written note setting out grounds for the appeal. A High Court judge will then decide whether to allow it to go ahead. The Scottish Executive said: "It is not possible to indicate when a hearing might take place, but it would be held in front of five High Court judges at Camp Zeist."Megrahi, 49, was found unanimously guilty last week by three judges of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 with a recommendation that he serve 20 years in jail.

His coaccused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was found not guilty.. The Office of Fair Trading has called on the Government to put an end to the restrictive practices which force the public to pay for a solicitor whenever they require the services of a barrister. The Office of Fair Trading has called on the Government to put an end to the restrictive practices which force the public to pay for a solicitor whenever they require the services of a barrister. A report by the OFT, which was handed to ministers on Friday, has called for action after finding the current system serves only to increase client's legal bills unnecessarily.OFT investigators are particularly concerned that under the Bar's code of conduct, barristers can only be approached directly by a member of the public after first "instructing" a solicitor. The report concludes that this rule is an unnecessary and costly obstacle to the access of legal services.Ministers are now expected to implement the OFT's recommendation. A government source said yesterday that he could see no reason why people should have to pay for both a barrister and solicitor when they only want a barrister.The Bar Council, which represents 8,000 barristers in England and Wales, said that it welcomed any proposal which improved choice for the consumer. But a Bar Council spokesman cautioned that a wholesale change would not work to the client's advantage in all cases."There's no benefit to a person who has been arrested in going to a chambers for help when a solicitor is in a much better position to advise them at the police station," said the spokesman.The Government is now considering whether it is best to remove the "double lawyer" obligation in the Bar's rules, or to develop the BarDIRECT scheme which currently licenses specified organisations and public bodies, such as police forces and trade unions, to leapfrog the solicitor and go directly to a barrister.A spokeswoman for the Law Society, which represents 80,000 solicitors in England and Wales, said that while it favoured widening consumer choice it was important that clients were afforded "proper protection".She said that ministers would have to think carefully about the implications of barristers handling client money and the need for wider professional indemnity insurance.The OFT report, which is first being considered by the Department of Trade and Industry, also calls for an end to the restriction on barristers and solicitors setting up in business together or with other professionals such as accountants.The Law Society said yesterday that it favours multi-disciplinary partnerships (MDPs) where partners from different disciplines can share fees.But the Bar has told the OFT that MDPs would restrict access to the Bar and threaten legal professional privilege and the duty of confidentiality.