TWO convicted murderers and paedophiles who claim they were discriminated against over prison visits to each other as a gay couple gave "inconsistent" information about their relationship, a court has heard.

Charles O'Neill and William Lauchlan claim the Scottish Government has failed to respect their rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and that they have suffered discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation.

They are both serving life sentences for the murder of 39-year-old Allison McGarrigle in Largs, in Ayrshire, in 2010, and were also jailed for sex offences.

O'Neill, 51, and Lauchlan, 37, are housed in different prisons and authorities have refused their applications for visits with each other.

They maintain in a judicial review brought at the Court of Session in Edinburgh that they were in a "long-standing intimate and sexual relationship".

But Kay Springham, counsel for the Scottish ministers, told the court: "The information provided by the petitioners as to the relationship has been inconsistent.

"The position of the Scottish Prison Service is that they do not know whether the petitioners, prior to incarceration, were in a co-habiting relationship."

She said they had been listed at different addresses and that O'Neill had listed Lauchlan as his next of kin, but Lauchlan did not do the same with O'Neill.

Lord Stewart will give a ruling at a later date.