Luke Mitchell has today been refused access to the Supreme Court for an appeal against his conviction of murder.

Mitchell had previously requested that his case be referred to the UK Supreme Court but judges at the High Court in Edinburgh turned him down in June.

His legal team then turned to the Supreme Court to appeal that rejection, but a panel of three judges stood by the decision made in Scotland and refused Mitchell permission to have his case heard.

Mitchell is in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, Jodi Jones, 14, in 2003. He was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment with the judge imposing a minimum 20-year term.