MPs on the cross-party committee chaired by Andy Slaughter concluded: “As a result of our concerns regarding the performance of the CCRC and the unpersuasive evidence Karen Kneller provided to the committee, we no longer feel that it is tenable for her to continue as chief executive of the CCRC.”

In January, the CCRC’s chair Helen Pitcher resigned in the wake of a decision by an independent panel. It had been convened by the lord chancellor following concerns over Ms Pitcher’s response to Andrew Malkinson’s acquittal and after a decision by the CCRC Board that she should stay on as chair.

The Justice Committee called on the senior leadership of the CCRC to give evidence following Ms Pitcher’s resignation and public criticisms of the organisation. MPs questioned Karen Kneller, chief executive officer, and Amanda Pearce, casework operations director, on 29 April in the absence of a permanent or interim chair.

The committee’s report on leadership of the CCRC published today comes ahead of the expected review of how the organisation operates to be conducted by the yet to be appointed interim chair. The report highlights the key issues identified in the committee’s evidence taking.

On the CCRC’s approach to Andrew Malkinson’s acquittal, the committee concluded: “It should not have taken an independent review for the CCRC to apologise to Andrew Malkinson. The public statements of the then chair of the CCRC, Helen Pitcher, after Andrew Malkinson’s acquittal were woefully inadequate and showed a worrying lack of understanding of the potential damage to the CCRC’s reputation and public confidence that would almost inevitably arise from a failure to admit its mistakes and to apologise.

“By failing to offer a timely apology and by seeking to claim credit for the acquittal, the leadership of the CCRC caused significant damage to the organisation’s reputation. The CCRC’s statements gave the impression that the organisation and its leadership were more concerned with defending their own reputation than offering an honest assessment of how they had failed Andrew Malkinson.”

The committee described the CCRC leadership’s handling of the independent Henley Report which followed as “incompetent”, concluding: “The level of delay and the attempt to minimise the damage to the CCRC’s reputation were a spectacular failure of leadership.”

It added: “In our view, Chris Henley KC’s assessment of the work done by the CCRC was damning. It is true of course that the review focussed only on one case, but it is also clear beyond doubt that Chris Henley KC’s conclusions have significant implications for the CCRC’s overall approach to its casework. The mistakes made in relation to Andrew Malkinson’s application should have been taken as evidence of systemic problems within the CCRC.”

The report noted that the CCRC “has now been without an interim chair for four months”, adding: “This is an unacceptably long period of time for the organisation to be without a chair, particularly following a difficult and turbulent period.”

On the CCRC’s remote-first policy, the committee said it was “shocked” by the CCRC leadership’s decision – quite out of line with the rest of the public sector where hybrid working prevails – to turn the organisation fully remote, adding: “Fundamentally, we question whether fully remote working is right for the Commission and urge the interim chair to evaluate its impact on the Commission’s efficiency, the quality of casework and on staff wellbeing and morale…

“We recommend that the senior leadership should have a regular presence in the office, particularly in light of recent events and the high-profile criticism directed at the Commission. In our view, it is imperative that the organisation moves towards a hybrid model to ensure that it operates more effectively.”

Chair of the Justice committee and Labour MP Andy Slaughter MP said: “There is clear evidence in our report that the situation for the CCRC has deteriorated significantly and it now requires root and branch reform. It lacks a chair and has struggled to secure a sufficient number of commissioners. It has moved to remote-first, which is out of step with the rest of the public sector and seems unsuited to the nature of their work.

“An independent review has found a number of significant failures in how it dealt with one of the most significant miscarriages of justice of recent times. The leadership of the organisation failed to respond adequately to Andrew Malkinson’s acquittal and to the publication of the independent review.”

A CCRC spokesperson said: “We note the recommendations in the Justice Select Committee report and the committee’s view that its findings should ‘inform the approach of the next chair of the CCRC’ in reviewing how we operate.

“We look forward to an announcement on the appointment of an interim chair and to working with them in an organisation deeply committed to finding, investigating and referring potential miscarriages of justice.”