A man who spent more than seven years for a he did not commit today told how he has yet to receive a penny in compensation.

Sam Hallam became one of the youngest victims of a miscarriage of justice when he was aged 18. He was freed when images on his mobile phone finally proved he was miles away from where a knife gang killed a 21-year-old trainee chef.

The 36-year-old said: “For 20 years, the whole of my young adult life, I have been fighting a murder case of which I am entirely innocent. Still, today, I have not received a single penny for the seven-and-a-half years I spent in prison.”

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Sam is one of many victims of a law introduced two years after his release which says payouts only go to those who can prove innocence “beyond reasonable doubt”. Since the change, fewer than 7% of the claims sent to the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service have been successful. Campaigners say this is far less than under previous schemes.

Sam said: “The brutal test for compensation introduced in 2014 needs to be abolished. It goes completely against what this country should stand for.”

Sam, from Hoxton, North London, was ordered to serve 12 years for the 2004 killing of Essayas Kassahun. He was freed on appeal in 2012 after a campaign backed by Cockney film star Ray Winstone, whose nephew is Sam’s best mate.

Since then, the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights have rejected his compo bid. Sam’s fight comes as a poll reveals 71% think those wrongly convicted should get swift compensation.

He is being backed by justice charity Appeal, whose co-director Matt Foot said: “Compensation is essential to help people rebuilding lives left in tatters after wrongful imprisonment.”

Seema Misra, the former Surrey sub-postmistress who was wrongly jailed during the Post Office Horizon scandal, added: “Those wrongfully convicted at the very least should get full compensation.”

Others waiting for a payout include Andrew Malkinson, 58, who spent 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of raping a woman in 2003 near Bolton. And David Sellu, 76, a colorectal surgeon, spent 15 months in jail before his conviction for gross negligence manslaughter was quashed in 2018.

The Ministry of Justice said it supported victims of miscarriages of justice. It added: “The Law Commission is reviewing the criminal appeals process, including the issue of compensation, and is due to report back this year.”