One of the longest campaigns in British legal history will come to a climax within the next week when the Court of Appeal in London gives a ruling on the case of Derek Bentley.

BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Jane Peel

Nineteen-year-old Bentley was hanged in 1953 for the murder of a policeman, even though he was under arrest at the time and played no physical part in the killing. His accomplice, 16-year-old Christopher Craig, fired the fatal shot, but was too young to hang, and served 10 years before being released.

At a three-day appeal hearing the three judges, headed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Bingham, were urged to put right a serious wrong and restore the innocence of a man who should never have been executed. Bentley's family say they are 90 per cent confident the conviction will be quashed. The court will give its decision by July 31.

'Let him have it Chris'

The case dates back to November 1952 when Bentley and Craig were involved in a break-in at a warehouse in south London. The police were called and in the ensuing confrontation Craig fired a revolver, killing PC Sidney Miles.

PC Sidney Miles: Shot dead by Craig

Bentley was convicted of murder on the basis of police evidence that he had incited Craig to shoot with the words "Let him have it Chris". Bentley and Craig always denied the words were spoken. Within three months of the shooting Bentley had been charged, convicted, and hanged.

'Too striking a coincidence'

At the appeal, Edward Fitzgerald QC for Bentley said the alleged incitement was said to have occurred a full 15 minutes before PC Miles was shot. But he said there were grave doubts as to whether the words were ever spoken.

Christopher Craig shortly after the shooting took place

He said it was "too striking a coincidence" that 12 years before the Bentley case in an almost identical shooting of a police officer a man had been convicted for inciting his accomplice with the words "let him have it". Mr Fitzgerald said the police officers involved in the Bentley trial would have known about the earlier case.

New and uncontested scientific evidence put to the appeal also concluded that police officers had lied at the trial.

But it was the behaviour of the trial judge, the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Goddard, which came in for the heaviest criticism at the appeal.

Judge 'misdirected jury'

Iris Bentley: Never gave up fighting for her brother

He was described as "blatantly prejudiced" against the defendants. Counsel for the Crown agreed with Bentley's lawyers that Lord Goddard had misdirected the jury on the law, had made adverse and prejudicial comments during his summing up, and had wrongly commended the police officers.

In one passage complained of, Lord Goddard said to the jury: "The police officers that night ... showed the highest gallantry and resolution; they were conspicuously brave. Are you going to say that they are conspicious liars? ... Do you believe that those three officers have come into the box and sworn what is deliberately untrue - those three officers who on that night showed a devotion to duty for which they are entitled to the thanks of the community?"

'Simple-minded'

Campaigners are hopeful the conviction will be quashed

Another ground of appeal which the Crown accepted was that Bentley' was "simple-minded" and, although aged 19, had a mental age of 11. This evidence was available at the time of his trial but was not put to the jury.

The Appeal Court was told there was no "meaningful dispute" between the Crown and Bentley's lawyers on 10 of the 13 grounds of appeal, but it was for the court alone to decide whether the conviction should be quashed as unsafe.

Campaigners optimistic

Bentley's niece, Maria Bentley-Dingwall, who was not born when her uncle was executed, said she was 90 per cent confident that in the light of the Crown's concessions, he would be cleared.

It would be the culmination of a ceaseless campaign begun by her mother, Derek Bentley's sister, Iris Bentley.

Lord Chief Justice Bingham will give his judgement next week

In 1993 she won a limited pardon for her brother when the then Home Secretary, Michael Howard, agreed that he should not have been executed (although he did not accept that the conviction was wrong). Iris died in January 1997, before the case was referred back to the Court of Appeal.