Briton wanted for murder in UN awaits decision in extradition battle

A British man wanted for murder in the US will find out later if his long-running legal battle against extradition has been successful.

Phillip Harkins, 38, has been fighting against his transfer to the US to face the charge since 2003, in what has been described as Britain's longest-running extradition case.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is expected to rule later on Monday.

Harkins, originally from Greenock, Inverclyde, was indicted for murder after Joshua Hayes was killed by a gunshot wound to the head during a robbery in Jacksonville, Florida in 1999.

He denied any involvement and has contested his extradition since it was requested by US authorities in March 2003.

Harkins, who had been released on bail, returned to Scotland in 2002 but was jailed the following year for killing a woman in a road crash in Greenock.

After losing a number of attempts to block his extradition, Harkins took his case to the European Court of Human Rights where he successfully petitioned for a final hearing.

He had previously argued that if extradited he risked the death penalty or a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole''.

His lawyers say that it would be a breach of his human rights to send him back to the US