Mr Sullivan was convicted in 1987 of murdering 21-year-old Diane Sindall, who was attacked while leaving work in Bebington, Merseyside. His conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday after new DNA analysis revealed his genetic material was absent from evidence preserved from the scene. The case is believed to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.

Chris Henley KC, who reviewed the CCRC’s handling of the Andrew Malkinson case, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Mr Sullivan’s case underscored the likelihood of further failings. He said: “I think that’s absolutely inevitable. I think the case of Peter Sullivan shows us once again that mistakes will be made.

“And as part of the review process that I undertook, I urged the CCRC to review urgently and fundamentally every single case across their desk where DNA opportunities might arise, where the case was based, like this one was, on circumstantial evidence or even eyewitness evidence, which we know from the case of Andrew Malkinson, can also often be flawed.”

Mr Malkinson was released in 2023 after serving 17 years for a rape he did not commit, with DNA evidence ultimately proving his innocence. Mr Henley added: “I think that there is a fundamental problem in relation to our appeal system generally, that it just won’t face up to the fact that mistakes can be made. It stubbornly wants to stick to the original flawed conviction.”

Lord Falconer, a former justice secretary, said the CCRC was now “unled and generally regarded as useless” following the resignation of its chair, Helen Pitcher, over the body’s handling of the Malkinson case.

Although Mr Sullivan first approached the commission in 2008, testing methods available at the time were not sufficiently advanced to establish his innocence. However, Lord Falconer noted that similar forensic techniques were successfully used as early as 2013 in the case of Victor Nealon, who was freed after 17 years in prison over a sexual assault he did not commit.

Lord Falconer said: “Why were no steps taken, maybe until 2024, to look at the maybe 1,600 cases of rape or murder where there was an issue about identity when this new test was available?

“Or maybe not the new test, but a test that gave more accurate results. It’s absolutely horrific that Mr Sullivan spent 11 years at least in prison when the new test had become available and could have exculpated him.”

Mr Sullivan’s solicitor, Sarah Myatt, told the Today programme that he was “very overwhelmed, as you can imagine”.

She said: “We were all witness to the moment when he realised that the decision had been made to quash his conviction and that he would be released, and he just broke down. He put his head down on to the table, and he was sobbing, and that was quite poignant to see.”