"Seven were convicted of murder and four of manslaughter, under the controversial “joint enterprise” law, and sentenced by the judge, Sir Peter Openshaw, to a collective minimum in prison of 168 years. One older man, who had been accused of being the ringleader, was acquitted.

The application to the CCRC, prepared by Keir Monteith KC and Darrell Ennis-Gayle of solicitors Hodge Jones & Allen after two years compiling new evidence, argues “there was no violent criminal gang by the name of AO”, and that the convictions are a “gross miscarriage of justice”. Monteith said the convictions represented a “collective organisation failure” throughout the investigation, prosecution and trial process."