Luke Mitchell's murder sentence appeal refused

Mitchell was 14 when he committed the murder

Convicted killer Luke Mitchell has had an appeal to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence refused.

The 22-year-old was sentenced to life, with a minimum jail term of 20 years, after he was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Jodi Jones in 2003.

Judges rejected an argument that the minimum term should be reduced on grounds that Mitchell was only 14 years old when he committed the murder.

A previous appeal against his actual conviction was refused in 2008.

The body of Jodi Jones, 14, was found in woodland near Dalkeith in Midlothian.

Mitchell denied the murder but was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2005, when he was aged 16.

Lord Justice Clerk Lord Gill heard the case with Lord Hardie and Lady Cosgrove at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.

Lord Gill agreed that the punishment part should be reduced to 15 years to take account of Mitchell's age at the time of the offence.

However, Lord Hardie and Lady Cosgrove said that given that nature and circumstances of the crime the minimum term should remain at 20 years, meaning the decision was reached by majority.

Leaving court, Mitchell's mother Corinne Mitchell, said: "The fight goes on. We're not finished yet."

Jodi Jones' family left court without making any comment.