Thanks for being in jail .. now here's your bill !

After 11 years in jail for a crime he did not commit Irishman Michael O’Brien is forced to pay £37,000 — to cover his board and lodgings...

LAWYERS have condemned a decision to deny three Irishmen wrongly convicted of murder thousands of pounds in compensation — because of the money they saved while locked away.

Michael O’Brien and cousins Vincent and Michael Hickey spent up to 18 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

But the Court of Appeal has ruled they must repay 25 per cent of the compensation awarded to them because they did not have to meet their living costs while in jail.

The judgment has sparked outrage from some members of the legal profession and campaigners working for justice organisations.

Michael O’Brien spent 11 years in jail for the murder of a Cardiff newsagent before his conviction was finally quashed in 1999.

Cousins Vincent and Michael Hickey were two of the so-called Bridgewater Four — who spent 18 years in jail for the murder of newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater in Staffordshire before they were released following a successful appeal in 1997.

Mr O’Brien was later awarded £647,900 in compensation for his ordeal — with Michael Hickey receiving £990,000 and his cousin Vincent £506,200.

But judges at the Court of Appeal in London have now ruled that 37-year-old Mr O’Brien must forfeit £37,158 of his award because of the money he saved on board and lodgings while in prison.