Convicted murderer’s appeal rejected

A decorated soldier has lost his bid to overturn his conviction for the murder of a man more than 17 years ago.

But lawyers acting for Michael Ross have signaled they may now take his case to the Supreme Court in London to continue his legal challenge.

Today, Tuesday, judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal, in Edinburgh, rejected Ross’s bid to quash the murder conviction.

Following a trial in 2008, Michael Ross was found guilty of the murder of waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood, who was shot dead by a gunman wearing a balaclava at Kirkwall’s Mumutaz restaurant, in 1994.

Ross was jailed for life, with a judge ordering that he should serve at least 25 years for the killing before he becomes eligible to seek release. He was also sentenced to a further five years after leaping from the dock and trying to escape after being found guilty of the crime.