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A murder convict bidding to be exonerated after 13 years says he is ‘rotting behind bars’ after a bishop found a key witness by knocking on his door despite the miscarriage of justice watchdog claiming it has been unable to find him in 18 months.
Millionaire playboy Jason Moore, now 55, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 18 years on December 23 2013 after he was convicted of the cold-blooded murder of Robert Darby outside the Valentine pub in Gants Hill, east London.
The professional gambler has always denied murdering the 42-year-old in August 2005 and maintains he was in a parked car near the pub, but never left the vehicle.
Both the families of both Jason and Robert insist that the wrong man is behind bars and their campaign to have him freed has been backed by many ranging from cricket legend Sir Ian Botham to the Bishop of Stepney.
Jason’s case was rejected by the Court of Appeal in September 2017 but a bombshell piece of evidence was submitted to the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) in 2023 by the family who hoped it would free him once and for all.
The prosecution’s only witness to the murder, Abdul Ahmed, astonishingly admitted to an investigative reporter that he was drunk at the time and was unsure if he had identified the right man.
But in the last 18 months, the CCRC, which was just put under ‘urgent review’ by the justice secretary, has failed to track down the witness who could be critical to Jason’s freedom as he languishes behind bars.
In what appears to be another blunder by the CCRC, the Right Reverend Dr Joanne Grenfell, Bishop of Stepney, found Mr Ahmed at his home after simply knocking on his door twice.
Speaking from behind bars at HMP Oakwood, in Staffordshire, Mr Moore told MailOnline: ‘I’ve been rotting in this cell for 13 years. Every single day is a day stolen from me – gone forever.
‘And the CCRC? They drag their feet like they’ve got all the time in the world. They sit on cases, shuffle paper, and act like justice can wait.
‘But it’s not their life on hold. It’s mine. So I say this: come and do a day of it. Just one. Sit in this cell, stare at the same four walls, listen to the screams, the banging, the madness—and feel what it’s like to be buried alive while you’re still breathing. Then tell me your excuses and keep defending yourselves.’
His sister Kirstie, who has been leading the campaign to have him freed, said: ‘What happened to Jason was a tragic mistake. I believed the courts would correct it. But what I’ve come to understand is far worse – no one ever stood a chance.
‘One bishop, with no budget, no powers, and no investigative team, found the key witness in just two attempts.
‘The CCRC, with £8million in public funding, full legal authority, and every tool at its disposal, couldn’t manage it in eighteen months. If that doesn’t terrify the future, it should.’
Bishop Joanne said Jason’s case has the ‘hallmarks of an unsafe conviction’.
She added: ‘It also raises serious questions about institutional responses to potential miscarriages of justice and, in particular, the capacity and competence of the CCRC.
‘Despite Jason Moore’s family bringing to the CCRC’s attention concerns that key testimony in this case came from a witness who has since revealed that he was drunk at the time – and that he later disclosed this to the police – the CCRC has been unable or unwilling to make progress with contacting the witness.
‘Yet having knocked on the witness’s door only twice, I was able to speak to him.
‘A conviction which is based on testimony from a witness who has since contradicted himself, and which is potentially tainted by police non-disclosure, must merit urgent review.’
Jason has always denied murdering Mr Darby – and even the victim’s brother is adamant the wrong man is behind bars.
He maintains he was in a parked car near the Valentine pub, but never left the vehicle.
In a move he has regretted since, he fled the country fearing he would be attacked by Mr Darby’s family. His parents also moved after police said they could not guarantee their safety.
Eight years later when he returned to the UK, Jason was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years and has been in prison ever since.
In March 2024, a startling new update in the case was exposed by local investigative journalist Charles Thomson which is now forming the basis of a new appeal with the CCRC.
After tracking down the prosecution’s star witness to offer him the right of reply over some of the discrepancies in his statements, he uncovered something truly shocking.
Mr Ahmed had told police the killer was between 5ft 10in and 6ft with a shaved haircut, when Jason is 6ft 5 and had a mop of dark hair.
Mr Ahmed also discounted Jason in an identity parade in 2005, but was asked to look again seven years later and picked him out of a police photo ID parade that only showed Jason’s head and shoulders – hiding his distinctive height.
Jason was arrested one day after Mr Ahmed picked him out of that photo ID parade and said he was the killer. He was the only witness who identified Jason and his evidence directly led to him being charged with murder.
No forensic evidence has ever linked him to the crime.
When Mr Ahmed was asked by Newsquest about some of the discrepancies in the case, he became irate and astonishingly said: ‘It was the blink of the eye. I was passing by. How could you remember things like that? And I was drunk.’
He also said he told police he was drinking that morning, which was not mentioned in court or in evidence disclosed to the defence.
When asked whether he thought he picked out the right person, he replied: ‘No, I don’t know. I don’t know.’
Jason’s family hope to use the new evidence in their long bid to overturn his conviction. But they are growing increasingly impatient with the CRCC who have still not interviewed Mr Ahmed.
His trial at the Old Bailey heard how Moore and Darby were involved in a ‘love triangle’ over the affections of Adele Raynor, who worked in a bar underneath the gambler’s £1.4million Canary Wharf apartment.
Jason admitted Robert had threatened to ‘chop my toes off’, that he had been at the car park at the time, but claimed he was not the killer as he had remained in a car when the stabbing took place.
Mr Ahmed told police two weeks after the stabbing that the attacker was a bulky man, aged 30 to 40, with short dark hair shaved to number two length – and that he was wearing a blue jacket.
A second witness driving past said the attacker was the same height or an inch taller than the victim, who she estimated to be 5ft 10 – seven inches shorter than Robert.
Mr Ahmed did not select Jason in an identity parade shortly after the murder and chose a short haired volunteer instead.
In a move which has been questioned by photo parade experts, he was asked to carry out a second ID seven years later, having already seen a picture of Jason.
This time he selected Jason who was arrested, charged and later found guilty by the jury at the Old Bailey.
Moore was led screaming to the cells, violently kicking the dock and threatening a police officer.
The CCRC is in the midst of a crisis, having been put on ‘urgent review’ by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Dame Vera Baird was this month appointed the new chair after her predecessor, Helen Pitcher, quit after losing the confidence of the government in the fall-out from the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson.
He spent 17 years behind bars for a rape he did not commit and a damning review found the CCRC repeatedly failed to act on clear opportunities to exonerate him.
Bishop Joanne said she was pleased that under the new leadership of Dame Vera, the CCRC is ‘willing to engage with me and appears to be taking this matter seriously’.
She added: ‘I urge Dame Vera to undertake such a review now and to consider sending the case of Jason Moore to appeal.’
A CCRC spokesperson said: ‘We have received an application in relation to this case and a review is underway.
‘We have made repeated efforts to contact all relevant parties. These efforts will continue.
‘It would be inappropriate for us to discuss the application further at this stage.’
