A MAN whose murder conviction is considered potentially “one of the last great miscarriages of justice from the 1970s” took his 45-year fight to clear his name to the High Court yesterday .

Paul Cleeland, now 75, spent 26 years behind bars for the murder of his friend Terry Clarke, who was shot twice in the early hours of November 5 1972 as he and his wife returned to their home in Stevenage.

Mr Cleeland was convicted of murder at his retrial – at which he represented himself – and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in jail, but he has always maintained his innocence.

His MP Damian Collins, who sat at the back of the court yesterday, said he did not believe Mr Cleeland’s conviction was safe, adding: “I believe Paul's case could be one of the last great miscarriages of justice from the 1970s.”

Mr Cleeland was bringing his fifth challenge against the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in his bid to clear his name.

His lawyer Edward Fitzgerald QC outlined the five key aspects of the prosecution case, saying: “Almost every one of these strands of evidence, and all of the forensic strands, have now been discredited.”

Mr Clarke was a “deeply unpopular and violent man” and “a well-known criminal with many enemies, many of whom were victims of his violence,” Mr Fitzgerald added, arguing that the supposed motive – a fight between the two men two years before the murder – was “entirely inconclusive.”

Significantly, Mr Fitzgerald said that supposed “expert” evidence from the Metropolitan Police’s John McCafferty had been “totally discredited” by the findings of the Saville Inquiry into Bloody Sunday and the Court of Appeal’s quashing of the conviction of Barry George for allegedly killing Jill Dando.

He said it was “high time for the Court of Appeal to have another look” at the case.

Mrs Justice McGowan reserved judgement.

Outside court, Mr Cleeland said the question marks over Mr McCafferty’s supposed expertise posed a “terrible problem” for lawyers who had relied on his evidence.

He said Mr McCafferty had given evidence at the trials of James Hanratty and Derek Bentley when he “had no qualifications whatsoever.”

He told the Star that he thought there was “a major conspiracy with the crown and certain barristers” to prevent convictions based on his evidence being overturned.