Murder case sent to appeal court

Iain Gordon has won the right to have his appeal heard

A man's attempt to clear his name over a 1952 murder has been referred to Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal.

Iain Hay Gordon, 68, was convicted of murdering a judge's daughter in the province but has insisted that police forced him to confess to the crime.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission was only able to launch an investigation into his case last year after a change in the law.

Now the commission has announced that the case has been referred to the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland.

Gordon's supporters describe his case as the UK's longest-standing miscarriage of justice.

In March 1953 he was found guilty but insane of the murder of 19-year-old Patricia Curran.

Patricia Curran: Stabbed to death

She had been stabbed 37 times in the grounds of her family home in Whiteabbey, County Antrim in November 1952.

A student at the Queen's University of Belfast, the victim was the daughter of Sir Lancelot Curran, then a High Court judge who later became the Lord Chief Justice in Northern Ireland.

Gordon, who was a 20-year-old RAF national serviceman at the time, claims he was forced to confess after three solid days of interrogation.

He spent seven years in Holywell Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Antrim, before being released under a deal which allowed him to return to his native Glasgow on condition that he changed his name and did not discuss the case.

He started his campaign to prove his innocence eight years ago when he retired.

However, the Criminal Cases Review Commission could not become involved until the House of Commons changed the law last July to allow appeals against verdicts of guilty but insane.

Iain Gordon: "I'm innocent"

Gordon said the development had lifted a heavy load from his mind.

"Over the years, going back to 1950, I have had so many setbacks and false dawns, you just tend to come to terms with it," he said.

"But this development is a fantastic step forward."

However, Gordon would not speculate on the forthcoming appeal hearing.

"We're down the road quite substantially but we're not 100% there yet."

Gordon's solicitor Margot Harvey said her client now had an "opportunity to clear his name".

She added: "It has been an extremely long haul. We're hopeful we're now into the final furlong."