Jailed fan takes case to High Court

The 22-year-old is serving a 10-year sentence for the attempted murder of a barman in Bulgaria in 2005.

The barman was attacked a few nights after Liverpool FC's European Cup Final victory in Istanbul, Turkey.

He maintains his innocence, and Fair Trials Abroad described his conviction as a blatant miscarriage of justice.

Shields is seeking judicial review after Justice Secretary Jack Straw refused to issue a free pardon.

Recently his mother, Marie Shields, met the Prime Minister's wife, Sarah Brown, at 10 Downing Street over her son's case.

The legal challenge will examine whether there are powers "to grant a pardon to repatriated prisoners wrongly convicted in a foreign jurisdiction".

Shields was initially jailed for 15 years in Bulgaria, but was transferred to the UK in 2006.

He is currently serving the remainder of his sentence, which was cut to 10 years on appeal in Bulgaria, at HMP Haverigg in Cumbria.