The man convicted of killing British television presenter Jill Dando has won the right to a second appeal.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) confirmed this morning that it had decided to refer Barry George's case back to the Court of Appeal.
The decision is thought to have been made based on concerns about forensic evidence on a tiny speck of firearms discharge residue found in a pocket on George's coat.
George's solicitor, Jeremy Moore, told BBC News the original case gave "too much prominence" to the firearms evidence. He said fresh evidence now suggests that George's coat may have been contaminated through the air, rather than by a firearm.
There is also new information on his psychiatric state at the time of the killing, the BBC reported.
Mr Moore said: "We have submitted very strong grounds which, we feel, cast serious doubts on the safety of the conviction."
George's lawyers previously claimed that armed officers present at the scene, and their involvement in his arrest, may have been responsible for the residue.
Mr Moore told the BBC that new witnesses have now come forward to report firearms officers were at the scene. It is thought the arguments at appeal are likely to centre on expert witness testimony about the interpretation of the residue evidence.
George was sentenced to life in July 2001 after being found guilty by a majority of 10 to one of shooting the 37-year-old BBC News, Crimewatch and Holiday presenter on the steps of her home in Fulham, south west London, in April 1999. He lost an appeal in July 2002.
PA