Wife killer Malcolm Webster has failed in a bid to have more legal grounds added to his appeal against conviction and sentence.
The 53-year-old was jailed for life, and ordered to serve at least 30 years in prison, after he was found guilty of murdering Claire Morris in a faked car crash in Aberdeenshire in 1994.
He was convicted of a string of charges, including the attempted murder of second wife Felicity Drumm using similar methods, in New Zealand five years later.
The trial judge, Lord Bannatyne, told Webster that the murder had been "cold-blooded, brutal and callous" and carried out for the "utterly base" motive of financial gain.
Webster launched an appeal against both conviction and sentence, claiming that the 30-year jail term was excessive.
He appeared at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh on Wednesday, with defence counsel Chris Shead, who told judges that Webster had been granted leave to appeal on five grounds.
The lawyer argued that another three, which have already been rejected, should be included in the appeal because they are "arguable".
The three judges rejected the argument, and also turned down a bid to have transcripts of expert evidence and speeches from the trial produced at this stage.
Webster's appeal includes a claim the Crown did not lead enough evidence to exclude an accident as the cause of the crash and fire and a challenge to a decision to allow evidence from a further witness after the trial was under way.
