POLICE officers breached a murderer's human rights when they questioned him about the death of his teenage girlfriend, a watchdog has found.

The finding relates to the case of Luke Mitchell, from Dalkeith in Midlothian, who was convicted of killing 14-year-old Jodi Jones in 2005.

He has repeatedly protested his innocence and the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has for the past two years been investigating whether he received a fair trial.

Now the Government-funded body has concluded that, while Mitchell's rights were infringed by the way he was treated, he was not the victim of a miscarriage of justice and has no grounds to challenge his guilty verdict.

The 200-page report stated: "The Commission has decided not to refer Mr Mitchell's case to the High Court."

The infringement of his human rights relates to the way Mitchell, then 14, was questioned by police hours after Jodi's body was found, without a solicitor present. His supporters have argued this was unfair, but police insist he did not become a suspect until two days later.

Mitchell could now ­challenge his conviction at the European Court of Human Rights.