Court rejects pair's 'miscarriage of justice' compensation challenge

Two men who spent years behind bars before their convictions were overturned have lost the latest round of their legal battle for ''miscarriage of justice'' compensation.

Sam Hallam, who was convicted of murder, and Victor Nealon, who was found guilty of attempted rape, suffered a defeat at the High Court last year.

But they took their cases to the Court of Appeal. On Monday, three judges in London dismissed their human rights challenges.

Mr Hallam, now 28, from east London, served more than seven years after he was sentenced to life as a teenager following his conviction at the Old Bailey in 2005 of the murder of a trainee chef.

Mr Nealon, 54, who is originally from Dublin, was given a life sentence after his trial at Hereford Crown Court and served 17 years in jail - 10 more than the seven-year minimum term - after he persisted in asserting he was innocent.

They were both set free after appeal judges ruled that fresh evidence made their convictions unsafe, but each had applications for compensation rejected by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).