Limbs in the Loch killer William Beggs loses legal battle over police evidence

Limbs in the Loch murderer William Beggs has lost a bid to take his legal battle over evidence related to his conviction to the UK's highest court.

Beggs, who has so far cost the taxpayer more than £1 million in legal challenges, has tried for more than 14 years to force police to reveal information about their investigation into him.

The 60-year-old was jailed for life in 2001 after murdering Barry Wallace, 18, and dismembering his body at a house in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, in 1999. He disposed of body parts of the teenager in Loch Lomond and in the sea.

Beggs has always maintained his innocence but the Court of Criminal Appeal has previously ruled that there had been no miscarriage of justice.

He believes there is evidence that may assist his claim and has made repeated legal challenges to recover CCTV footage from cameras located in Kilmarnock town centre on the night of his victim's disappearance.

He also wanted information about police investigations into the murder, which arose from statements given to detectives during the probe.

Police Scotland has refused to give the information to Beggs to protect "the integrity of investigative and criminal justice procedures".

Last year judges at the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, refused to overturn a decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner not to order the release of the evidence.

Beggs then tried to take his case to the Supreme Court in London but three of the country's most senior judges have now refused his permission to appeal application.

Supreme Court justices Lord Hodge, Lord Leggatt and Lord Burrows ruled that it did not "raise an arguable point of law".

Supermarket worker Mr Wallace vanished on 5 December 1999, after a Christmas night out with colleagues in his home town of Kilmarnock. He was last seen in the town centre.

A jury found Beggs took the teenager to his flat and subjected him to a serious sexual assault. He then murdered him and cut up his body.

Shortly after the crime, Beggs fled to the Netherlands. After lengthy extradition proceedings, in January 2001 he was ordered to be returned to Scotland to face trial.

He has become a serial litigant while behind bars and has lodged a string of appeals and complaints over his treatment in prison.

Refusing Beggs' appeal at the Court of Session in September, Lord Malcolm, who sat with Lord Tyre and Lord

Doherty, said: "In our view it is manifest that the Commissioner approached his task in a thorough and conscientious manner.

"He viewed the requested material.

"He obtained the parties' submissions on the public interest test and carefully addressed them. He applied the statutory scheme in a clear and coherent way."

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