Paul Cleeland case: Files located over 1972 gun murder

Paul Cleeland has been fighting to clear his name for decades

Archives have been located in the case of a Kent man who has fought to clear his name of murder for 48 years.

Paul Cleeland, 79, was convicted of killing Terry Clarke in Hertfordshire in 1972. He served 26 years in prison.

After his MP Damian Collins asked about papers in the National Archives, the Home Office said a review had begun.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has since confirmed it holds Home Office files on Cleeland. It said it would help in any way it could.

Suspected gangland boss Mr Clarke was shot twice in Stevenage after returning home from a bar on 5 November 1972. Cleeland always insisted he was at home with his wife when Mr Clarke was killed.

The Folkestone pensioner's long-running campaign has seen two failed appeals and ongoing proceedings against the CCRC in the Administration Court.

Terry Clarke was killed after he returned home from a bar

A CCRC spokesman said Cleeland made his first application to the newly-established CCRC in 1997, which was when Home Office material was obtained for a review.

The papers were later placed in secure, off-site storage, and the contents and quantity of material are not known.

"We will assist the Home Office in any way we can," the spokesman said. "As yet, however, they have not contacted us."

Mr Collins, who has previously said Cleeland and his legal team need to be made aware of any files that exist, has submitted a written question to the home secretary.

He has asked if Priti Patel will "allow my constituent Mr Paul Cleeland to have access to the Home Office files that have been placed with the CCRC relating to his conviction".

Paul Cleeland was 30 when he was jailed