Clegg appeal verdict reserved

Paratrooper Lee Clegg should know next month if his latest murder appeal has been successful

Paratrooper Lee Clegg should know next month if his latest murder appeal has been successful. Judgment was reserved yesterday at the end of his third appeal against conviction for murdering a teenage girl in 1990.

The 30-year-old paratrooper lost two earlier appeals against his conviction for murdering Ms Karen Reilly (18) when soldiers fired 19 shots into a stolen car in west Belfast

In his closing address yesterday, Crown counsel Mr Reginald Weir QC said the new evidence provided no basis for contending that Clegg's conviction was either unsafe or unsatisfactory.

"On the contrary," said Mr Weir, "the evidence provides support for the conclusion of the trial judge that the Clegg bullet was fired at the rear of the car."