Tim Darby blasted the British legal system as “a disgrace” and called for government intervention in what he believes is a miscarriage of justice.
He said an innocent man, Jason Moore, was serving life for his younger brother Robert’s stabbing, but the authorities were intent on covering up their mistakes instead of fixing them.
“My brother Robert would never have wanted this – an innocent man suffering in his name,” he wrote.
“Jason Moore’s wrongful conviction dishonours Robert’s memory and mocks the justice system.”
His letter urged the press and public to back the Free Jason Moore campaign.
“Your voice is powerful,” he wrote. “Share this story, keep it in the spotlight and stand with me in demanding justice.”
Tim’s letter, which sparked stories in Daily Mail and the Independent, came after Newsquest uncovered fresh evidence, now being used to challenge Jason’s conviction.
Robert Darby was stabbed in the heart outside the Valentine pub in Gants Hill on August 24, 2005 (Image: The Darby family) “Saving face”
Robert, 42, from the Isle of Dogs, was stabbed in Perth Road, Gants Hill, in August 2005.
Jason, from Canary Wharf, approached the Metropolitan Police as a witness but was charged with murder when one eyewitness picked him from a photo line-up as the stabber – seven years after the stabbing.
Experts say the line-up was corrupted, as police had already shown the witness Jason’s photo before it took place.
No other evidence, like DNA, fingerprints or CCTV, ever linked Jason to the crime.
When Newsquest interviewed the witness in 2022, he claimed he was “drunk” when he saw the stabbing and was not sure he’d picked the right man from the line-up.
He added that police knew he was drunk all along – something never disclosed to Jason’s defence.
“For years now, the authorities have refused to acknowledge their mistakes, instead doubling down to protect their own reputations,” wrote Tim.
“The system has been more concerned with saving face than with seeking the truth.”
Years after Jason’s conviction, multiple new witnesses named another man as the real killer.
Tim testified under oath that one gave the name to him directly, but when he passed the information to police they refused to act on it.
The government urged judges to ignore Tim and the other new witnesses.
They obliged, upholding Jason’s conviction – and getting key facts wrong in the process in their written justification.
They decided the eyewitness who picked Jason from the line-up was credible because his account was broadly consistent with an independent pathologist’s findings.
When the Moore and Darby families asked the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to review the case in 2021 and reinterview the eyewitness, it refused.
It too got key facts wrong in its decision notice.
When Newsquest reinterviewed the witness instead, he made his bombshell admission to being drunk.
We also revealed the pathologist that appeal judges relied on to corroborate that witness had been struck off over more than 20 counts of misconduct.
In at least three cases, his bad work led to innocent people being charged with murder or manslaughter.
But a fresh appeal bid based on our new evidence has now been awaiting a CCRC decision for more than a year.
Addressing his open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, the CCRC and the Court of Appeal, Tim called Jason’s ongoing conviction “an insult to reason and fairness”.
He said it was “undeniable” that it was a wrongful conviction, yet “at every turn, the system has refused to listen”.
“If the family of the victim believes the wrong man is in prison, that should raise a red flag for everyone involved,” he wrote. “This is not a simple mistake – it is a disgrace. Justice has failed at every level.”
To the CCRC and the courts, he wrote: “You have had the evidence proving Jason Moore’s innocence for far too long. The time for delay is over. The facts are clear and there is no justification for further postponement. You have a duty to act.”
The CCRC said it could not comment on a live application.
Judges cannot comment outside their written judgments.
The Metropolitan Police did not comment on Newsquest’s new evidence, uncovered in 2022 – but said it had met Robert Darby’s family in 2021 to explain why it would not reopen the case.
“This investigation remains closed, but should the circumstances change, we will assess them and consider the most appropriate way to manage any developments in this investigation,” a spokesperson said.
Offered Newsquest’s new evidence in 2023, the Met Police did not respond.
The government did not respond to a request for comment.
