A man who served 18 years behind bars for the murder of his heavily-pregnant wife has lost the latest round of a long-running fight to have his conviction overturned.

Eddie Gilfoyle was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 1993 of killing former factory worker Paula Gilfoyle and faking her suicide.

Mr Gilfoyle, who is now in his 50s, wants the Court of Appeal to reconsider the "safety" of his conviction in the light of "fresh evidence".

He has always insisted he is innocent, but has so far failed to successfully challenge his conviction.

Last year the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body which investigates possible miscarriages of justice, declined to refer his case back to the Court of Appeal for a further review.

Mr Gilfoyle sought a judicial review of the CCRC's decision, arguing its reasoning in reaching its conclusion was ''fundamentally misguided in a number of critical respects''.

Two judges at the High Court in London dismissed his case on Friday, ruling that the CCRC's decision was not "arguably flawed".

Mr Gilfoyle's case was rejected by Lady Justice Sharp and Mr Justice Sweeney.

At a hearing at the High Court in July his barrister submitted that the CCRC's "flawed" decision should be quashed.

Ben Emmerson QC asked the court to find "no reasonable decision-maker" could have reached the decision not to refer Mr Gilfoyle's case back to the Court of Appeal.

Lady Justice Sharp announced: "In all the circumstances, I reject the submission that the commission's final decision of July 23 2016 was arguably flawed and it follows that I would dismiss the renewed application for judicial review."

Mr Gilfoyle's case was previously referred to the Court of Appeal by the CCRC, but in 2000 three leading judges ruled his conviction was safe.

His 32-year-old wife was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when she was found hanging in the garage of the couple's home at Upton, on June 4 1992.

Her death was initially treated as suicide.