A man who was jailed for life for murder more than 35 years ago has failed in his latest attempt to clear his name.
George Beattie was 19 when he was jailed for stabbing 23-year-old typist Margaret McLaughlin in woods near Carluke, North Lanarkshire, in 1973.
Beattie, whose case was taken up by the BBC's Rough Justice programme, served 15 years before being freed on licence.
The case against the appellant depended to a large extent on statements he made to the police and other witnesses following the murder and on his conduct after he had been arrested.
However, appeal judges rejected claims he had been "bullied" into making the statements.
Having lost a previous appeal in 1994, this latest attempt was referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Delivering the opinion of the court, the Lord Justice General, Lord Hamilton, said he was satisfied that information Beattie gave police was "volunteered" and not fed to him by officers.
The appeal judges, who also included Lord Nimmo Smith and the retired Lord Justice General, Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, also rejected claims that the trial judge in 1973 had misdirected the jury and that there was not enough evidence for a reasonable jury to find Beattie guilty.
They said: “We have considered the grounds of appeal not only individually but also cumulatively. We are not, however, persuaded that, taking the whole considerations together, the appellant has been shown to have suffered a miscarriage of justice or to have had a trial which was unfair.”
The court's decision can be read in full at http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2009HCJAC22.html
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