Alice Wheeldon and family: one step closer to review of convictions November 2019

An application for review of the 1917 criminal case against resident Alice Wheeldon and her family – once known as the ‘plot to murder Lloyd George’ – has just been lodged with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (UK) by Chloë Mason, Alice’s great granddaughter.

The case goes back to the First World War. Alice Wheeldon and her family were well known opponents of the war and . Alice, her daughters Hettie Wheeldon and Winnie Mason, and her son-in-law Alf Mason, were accused of conspiracy to murder Prime Minister and , Labour member of the War Cabinet. Hettie was acquitted, but Alice, Winnie and Alf Mason were all convicted and imprisoned.

The family argued that they had been set up by two undercover agents and that the murder plan was fabricated – a fantasy, described by the Manchester Guardian during the trial as “a story so strange that it seems hardly to relate to the world of reality”.

Leave to appeal was refused at the time, and until the creation of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) there was no recourse to further appeal or review, even as evidence emerged of the unfairness of the trial.

The CCRC application has been compiled by Chloë Mason in conjunction with barristers Andrew Smith QC and Ben Williams of St Philips Chambers, Birmingham. It is supported by more than 170 pages of extensively referenced argument, drawing on records from newly opened government and institutional archives, family papers, photographs, digitised newspapers and historical research. Copies of hundreds of original documents have also been provided to assist the Commission in assessing the application.

Chloë Mason says the application sets out powerful reasons for the Commission to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, and she believes there would be a real possibility of the verdicts being overturned.

“Lodging this application is an important milestone on the path towards a successful appeal,” said Ms Mason. “We have combined a wealth of evidence unavailable to the defendants at the time to argue that the trial was unfair and the convictions should be quashed.”

For more information: www.alicewheeldon.org

Email: [email protected]

+44 7383 673 572 Notes to editors

Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) Details about the role and work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission can be found at www.ccrc.gov.uk 1. The Commission is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is based in Birmingham and is funded by the Ministry of Justice. 2. There are currently 13 Commissioners who bring to the Commission considerable experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. Commissioners are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice. 3. The Commission usually receives around 1,400 applications for reviews (convictions and/or sentences) each year. Since starting work in 1997, the CCRC has referred around 3% of applications to the appeal courts. 4. The Commission considers whether, as a result of new evidence or argument, there is a real possibility that the conviction would not be upheld were a reference to be made. New evidence or argument is argument or evidence which has not been raised during the trial or on appeal. Applicants should usually have appealed first. A case can be referred in the absence of new evidence or argument or an earlier appeal only if there are “exceptional circumstances”. 5. If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the conviction is unsafe or the sentence unfair.