A former soldier is appealing against his conviction for the racist murder of an Orkney waiter 16 years ago.

Army sergeant Michael Ross, 36, was found guilty of murdering Shamsuddin Mahmood, who was shot while working at an Indian restaurant in Kirkwall in 1994.

The murder remained unsolved for 12 years until Northern Constabulary reopened the case in 2007 and brought Black Watch sniper Ross to justice.

Ross, who was only 15 at the time of the murder, has appealed against his conviction.

The hearing, his fourth attempt to have his appeal heard, began at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

Ross's representatives are arguing that police interviews, carried out without a lawyer present when Ross was 16, are no longer admissible in court following a European Court of Human Rights ruling.

Defence counsel Margaret Scott QC said: "We are dealing here with a child who is interviewed in the police station, being treated as a suspect.

"It is about whether information is obtained or a statement made by an accused person who is vulnerable and these are then used to obtain a conviction."

The court heard that Ross was initially interviewed by police and then again when his alibi was contradicted by others.

Ross admitted to police he had disposed of a balaclava in the woods, a fact relied upon during trial, his defence argued.

His counsel are also expected to challenge a decision not to allow his lawyers to lead evidence from a psychologist during the trial.

In 2008, Ross was jailed for a minimum of 25 years for what the judge branded a "vicious, evil, unprovoked murder".

Five years were later added to his sentence for trying to escape at the end of his trial to a car parked nearby that contained an automatic rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition and a hand grenade.

Mr Mahmood was shot in the head by a masked man in front of diners at the Mumutaz restaurant.

The murder trial heard that as a 15-year-old, Ross harboured racist views which drove him to hunt down and kill one of the few Asian residents living on Orkney.

In the years until he was caught, Ross joined the army and was decorated for outstanding service in Iraq. He also acted as a guard for the Queen.

An earlier appeal was abandoned when it transpired that the judge had earlier sentenced Ross' father for attempting to pervert the course of justice, in the aftermath of Mr Mahmood's killing.

Eddie Ross, a police officer at the time, had lied about the possession of ammunition which matched that used in the Mumutaz Restaurant.

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