Police had key DNA evidence that could prove Andrew Malkinson's innocence 16 YEARS AGO... but no action was taken

Police and Crown prosecutors reportedly knew in 2007 that another man's DNA was on the clothes of the woman Andrew Malkinson was wrongly imprisoned for raping, yet he stayed behind bars, it was claimed today.

The 57-year-old was found guilty of raping a woman by the M61 motorway in Little Hulton, Salford, in July 2003 and was jailed for life the following year with a minimum term of seven years. He served 10 more because he maintained his innocence.

But his conviction was quashed by senior judges at the Court of Appeal in July after DNA evidence linking another man to the crime came to light.

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Case files obtained by Mr Malkinson as he battled to be freed show that officers and prosecutors knew forensic testing in 2007 had identified a searchable male DNA profile on the rape victim's vest top that did not match his own, The Guardian reported.

They opted to take no further action and there is no record that they told the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the body responsible for investigating possible miscarriages of justice, according to the report.

The CPS said Mr Malkinson's lawyers were told of the new DNA evidence. The CCRC refused to order further forensic testing or refer the case for appeal in 2012 and the case files reportedly suggest it was worried about costs.

Notes of a meeting between the Forensic Science Service, the CPS and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in December 2009 suggests the CPS understood the possible importance of the 2007 DNA find, according to the report.

CPS guidance states it 'must write to the CCRC at the earliest opportunity about any case in which there is doubt about the safety of the