Ronald De Souza cleared of attempting to rob cop

A man wrongfully convicted of the attempted robbery of a corrupt police officer more than 50 years ago has had his name cleared at the Court of Appeal.

Ronald De Souza was detained for six months following a case investigated by British Transport Police (BTP) officer Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell, who was responsible for a series of racist miscarriages of justice.

Mr De Souza was part of the group known as the Stockwell Six. They were accused of trying to rob Ridgewell while on a night out in south London in 1972, despite telling jurors that officers had lied and subjected them to violence and threats.

Another of Ridgewell’s victims, Errol Campbell, had his conviction overturned posthumously.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) reviewed Mr De Souza’s conviction after the convictions of his co-defendants Paul Green, Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson and Texo Johnson were quashed in 2021.

The sixth member of the so-called Stockwell Six, Everet Mullins, was acquitted because it was shown that his reading ability was not good enough for him to have read and fully understood his signed statement, which was written for him by Ridgewell.

In his ruling on Thursday, Lord Justice Holroyde said that Mr De Souza, who did not attend court, “bore the burden of his wrongful conviction throughout his adult life”.

“We regret this court cannot put right all that he has suffered over half a century,” he said.

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