"Tiernan is then to be congratulated that rather than be silenced by this outrageous withdrawal of his paper from the journal, he has made it publicly available, with a short commentary on the story of how he was driven to this action.
I highly recommend that all those interested in forensic science and justice read the report. It demonstrates clearly how not only are people being wrongly convicted using flawed forensic science, but that even when discovery of flawed scientific conclusions are aired, it may not be enough to win freedom for the wrongly convicted. It is a salutary tale for those convinced that forensic science will end miscarriages of justice. It is also illuminating that while some in the forensic community wish to work to strengthen the scientific basis of their work, and share mistakes and assist in research, there are elements of the community that remain strongly resistant. This cannot be allowed to happen if progress is to be made.
https://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2012/page/30/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275537164_WITHDRAWN_The_case_of_Simon_Hallhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030612000020"A Freedom of Information request by the BBC suggested increasing problems with forensic work since the Forensic Science Service (FSS) was shut down in 2012 to save money.
The FSS was replaced by a mixture of private and police-run laboratories.
Last year saw a spike in the number of complaints made about the quality of work by lawyers or police officers to seven - up from three in 2013 and one in 2012.
The BBC has also learned the Met routinely uses laboratories that do not meet the ISO 17025 gold standard accreditation, leading forensic experts to warn about the potential for miscarriages of justice.
Tiernan Coyle, chief scientist at private laboratory Contact Traces, warned the drop in fibre experts meant so much expertise has been lost that the Dobson evidence may not have been found, were the Lawrence case subjected to a cold case review today
Mr Coyle, who worked on both the Lawrence and Damilola Taylor cases, said: "You need a body of expertise in the country available to do fibre work - we are at a skeleton crew level.
"Any further loss would see the country lose its fibre expertise altogether. Our staffing levels are at dangerously low levels."
He warned many police are not routinely recovering fibres as they used to, while some police forces now use non-scientific personnel to decide the forensic approach.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33155235