Peters & Peters have successfully secured the deletion of a high-profile French criminal conviction relating to our client from the Police National Computer (PNC) and the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS), in a notable departure from UK criminal record retention policies.

The law on removing convictions in the UK is often complex, and is weighted strongly in favour of the ongoing retention of criminal records data despite frequent glaring inaccuracies in data shared cross-border within the European criminal records network and the resulting prejudice caused to the subject of the data.  In our client’s case, not only was data recorded inaccurately in the UK, but was subject to change over time, and did not account for important changes made to the French criminal record pursuant to fundamental rights afforded to our client in that country.

Following representations made by this firm pursuant to overarching data protection principles, the UK authorities consented to the removal of our client’s conviction data, in full, from the PNC and further confirmed that the same data has been removed from the European conviction exchange mechanism, ECRIS, restoring our client’s rights as a rehabilitated former offender.

Partner Jasvinder Nakhwal and Associate Craig Hogg acted on this case, and were assisted by Trainee Cécile Nicod and Legal Researcher, Katie Jones.