Barry George said he had been "hounded" by police since being cleared of killing TV host Jill Dando
Barry George said he had been "hounded" by police since being cleared of killing TV host Jill Dando Reuters

Barry George, who was wrongly convicted of murdering TV host Jill Dando, has spoken of his anger at being refused compensation for spending eight years locked up in prison.

George, along with three other men who have had their convictions quashed - Victor Nealon, Martin Foran and James Boyle - will protest later outside a global law summit taking place in central London, the BBC reported.

The government introduced new legislation in 2014 which made changes to the compensation scheme, creating a statutory definition of what constitutes a "miscarriage of justice".

George said he had "lost everything" as a result of the conviction and had been "hounded" by police following his release from jail in 2008.

"It makes a mockery of justice" he said.

"I've never received a penny - absolutely nothing. If they're not going to pay you compensation for the many years they take from you, what does that say for the criminal justice system?

"Not one police officer has come to my knowledge to my family or my legal team and said, 'We're sorry, there was a tragic mistake, we pursued the wrong person,'" he said.

A change in law last year meant George was not eligible for compensation, thanks to a tightening of the legal definition of a miscarriage of justice.

George's sister Michelle Bates told the BBC: "In the British justice system you are innocent until proven guilty.

"To say that Barry should prove his innocence after his conviction was quashed is ridiculous. There is no court in the land where you can prove your innocence."

Dando was shot dead on the doorstep of her home in north London in 1999. George was convicted of her murder in 2001, only to be cleared over doubts about gunshot residue evidence.