In her resignation letter, Mr Pitcher said she had been made a scapegoat by Alex Chalk KC, the Conservatives’ last justice secretary.

Mr Chalk, who the BBC has contacted, did not start the process to remove Ms Pitcher but had launched the judge-led inquiry into the actions of all agencies in the Malkinson case.

“The trigger for convening the panel was based on understandable media outrage over the appalling treatment of Andrew Malkinson,” Ms Pitcher said in her letter.

“Serious questions remain for Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

“I note that the DPP [the director of public prosecutions, who heads the CPS] and the chief constable of the GMP have not been the subject of comparable criticism.

“It feels unfair that I, who supported sending Mr Malkinson’s case back to judges, have been singled out.”

But Mr Malkinson told the BBC: “Helen Pitcher’s attempt to portray herself as the victim here is shameless.

“I know what it truly is like to be a scapegoat.

“I agree, however, that others need to be held accountable.

“The CCRC’s senior leadership, starting with the CEO, must also resign to pave the way for root-and-branch reform.

“I am astonished that the outgoing chair claims that the CCRC was able to ‘resolve the situation,’ and set me free.

“That work was done by my team at [legal charity] Appeal, not the CCRC, who were considering rejecting my case for a third time.

“Going forward, it is crucial that the CCRC is led by people with the guts to challenge miscarriages of justice, even if that means taking on forces like the police and judiciary.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Lord Chancellor established an independent panel to consider Helen Pitcher’s role as chair of the CCRC. We welcome her resignation.

“Given the importance of the CCRC’s work, we will appoint an interim chair as quickly as possible who will be tasked with conducting a full and thorough review of how the organisation operates.”