## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01/01/2025 To 31/12/2025**
## **Charity name: Innocence Project London**
## **Charity registration number: 1190617**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The Innocence Project London (IPL)
provides students with the opportunity to
review and investigate cases of convicted
individuals who have maintained their
innocence but have exhausted the criminal
appeals process. The aim of our work is to
submit an application to the Criminal Cases
Review Commission (CCRC) on behalf of
our clients. The CCRC is an independent
body which reviews possible miscarriages
of justice in the United Kingdom. In order
for the CCRC to refer a case back to the
Court of Appeal they need to identify new
evidence, or a new legal argument not
identified at the time of the trial, that might
have changed the whole outcome of the
trial if the jury had been given a chance to
consider it. The IPL supports convicted
individuals to make these applications pro
bono, filling a gap in the criminal legal
system where there is limited funding for
lawyers to undertake this work|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|•
By providing administrative and
expert support in collaboration with
other public bodies to convicted
individuals whose convictions may
be unsafe
•
By making submissions to the
Criminal Cases Review Commission
on behalf of individuals who claim to
be wrongfully convicted or who have
suffered a miscarriage of justice
•
By creating awareness about
wrongful convictions and
miscarriages of justice in England
and Wales
•
By creating awareness of issues
concerning the disclosure of
evidence post-conviction through
conducting research and by
publishing useful results|
|||•
By promoting education and
conducting research into areas of
criminal law|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The trustees have complied with the
Charity Commission’s guidance on public
benefit and are fully aware of the charity’s
objects and purpose. The trustees have
fulfilled their duties with the public benefit of
IPL in mind at all times|
|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|
||SORP reference||
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|The IPL is not a grant-making charity and
does not have a policy on grant making.|
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|The board of trustees are continuing to
explore social investment as a vehicle for
fundraising but there is currently no specific
fundraising policy although one will be
prepared before mid 2027|
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|During the reporting period Weil, Gotshal
and Manges provided 40 lawyers and
340.2 hours of pro bono legal support with
case assessment. From the law firm
Gibson Dunn, 17 lawyers provided 306
hours for the purpose of case assessment.
For the case work, 36 students worked
between 4-6 hours each week investigating
claims of innocence across five cases.|
|Other|||
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|In the reporting period this year we have
worked to generate activities that support
all of our charitable aims as laid out in para
1.17 and 1.19
1. We actively investigated six cases,
and we have one application to the
CCRC pending submission and one
application under consideration
with the CCRC. This supports out
charitable aim of providing support
to individuals whose convictions
may be unsafe with a view to
developing applications to the
CCRC on our clients behalf. This
also support our aim of providing
clinical legal education to
students at the University of
Greenwich.
2. We released seven episode of the
IPL podcast in the last year, with a
total of 250 downloads between
them. These included interviews
with interns, and individuals who
work closely with the IPL. This
brings to total downloads across 25
episodes to 3,822. This helps to
raise awareness of our work around
the world and supports our
charitable aim of creating public
awareness of wrongful convictions.
3. The IPL hosted 5 interns from
University of North Carolina Chapel
Hill and the University of Notre
Dame who carried out case work
and also worked on our
social media presence. This
supports our charitable aim of
promoting education and research
in areas of criminal law.
4. Hosted one of the largest IPL
annual symposium’s with two
fantastic guest speakers to
continue raising awareness of the
work we do. This was attend by 113
guests most of whom, were
students and staff at
the University of Greenwich.
|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|Two new trustees were recruited.|
|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|We continue our relationship with Alcotraz,
a prison-themed immersive theatrical
experience with locations across the UK.
Under the agreement, Alcotraz donates a
percentage of their revenue to IPL.
We secured a £5000 restricted grant from
Clifford Chance to delivery on a
communication to prisons project|
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|**NA**|
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|At the end of the financial year 2025, IPL
had a surplus of £2.7K|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|NA|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|£9152|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|**NA**|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|**NA**|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|**NA**|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|IPL has a partnership with Alcotraz that
provides a percentage of their ticket
revenues to the charity. Donations from
individuals are another source of income.
Work is ongoing to seek funding from trusts
and foundations as well as corporations
and partnerships. In the last quarter of
2025 we have secured a £5000 grant from
the Clifford Chance Foundation to deliver
on a prison project|
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|**NA**|
|---|---|---|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|**NA**|
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|
Para 1.25|The IPL is governed by a formal
Constitution and registration with the
Charities Commission which is subject to
formal regulations in England and Wales.|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|The IPL is structured as a CIO and is
governed by a formal Constitution
document that outlines the following:
•
Objectives and powers
•
Application of income and property
•
Benefits and payments to charity
trustees and connected persons
•
Scope and powers permitting
trustees' or connected persons'
benefits
•
Conflicts of interest and/or loyalty
•
Charity trustees
•
Eligibility for trusteeship
•
Decision making powers
•
Meeting protocols|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|•
Trustees are appointed in a standard
interview process by at least three
Board members.
•
Apart from the first charity trustees,
every appointed trustee must be
appointed by a resolution passed at a
properly convened meeting of the
charity trustees.
•
In selecting individuals as appointed
trustees, the trustees must have regard
to the skills, knowledge, and experience
for the administration of the CIO.
•
A trustee ceases to hold office if he or
she:|
**1)** Retires by notifying the CIO in writing (if enough charity trustees will remain in office when notice of resignation takes effect to form a quorum for meetings) **2)** Is absent without permission from the charity trustees, from all meetings held within six months and the trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees|Para 1.51|The charity trustees may delegate any of
their powers or functions to a committee or
committees, and, if they do, they shall
determine the terms and conditions on
which the delegation is made. The charity
trustees may alter those terms and
conditions or revoke the delegation|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|**NA**|
|Relationship with any
related parties|Para 1.51|The Innocence Project London is based at
the University of Greenwich which also
provides office space and ad hoc
administrative support to the project whose
students undertake the work|
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Innocence Project London|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charity number|1190617|
|Charity’s principal address|University of Greenwich, Park Row, Greenwich SE10 9LS|
|||
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of**
**person (or**
**body) entitled**
**to appoint**
**trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Nuala Walsh||09/12/21||
|2
3
4
5
6
7|Alexa Curtis||01/07/24||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Rossana Rocchini||01/07/24||
||Isabelle Brennan||01/01/25||
||Katherine Youssouf||01/01/25||
||Natalia Lopez||01/06/26||
||KingsleyKemish||01/06/26||
– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name Louise Hewitt**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
|Description of the assets
held in this capacity|NA|
|---|---|
|Name and objects of the
charity on whose behalf the
assets are held and how this
falls within the custodian
charity’s objects|NA|
|Details of arrangements for
safe custody and
segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own
assets|NA|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|
|---|---|---|
|**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
|**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**|||
||||
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
|**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (eg Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**
**Date**|||
|---|---|---|
||Rossana Rocchini||
||
Treasurer||
||20/08/2026||
||20/08/2026||