Decision on Nat Fraser retrial deferred

• Nat Fraser was convicted of killing his wife Arlene, who was last seen in 1998

Fraser, 52, of Elgin, Moray, appeared at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh two days after the UK's Supreme Court made the decision regarding his 2003 conviction.

Fraser was ordered to serve a minimum 25-year term after being found guilty by a jury in Scotland of killing his wife Arlene, whose body has never been found.

Today, after a brief hearing before three judges, he was remanded in custody and told the next hearing would be on June 8.

Fraser had appealed against his conviction, arguing at a hearing in March that Scottish prosecutors breached his right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.

A panel of five Supreme Court justices in London unanimously agreed on Wednesday and said judges in Scotland must decide whether he should be tried again.

Scottish prosecutors have already said they would seek a retrial.

The court heard today that Fraser's defence team wants time to prepare for a possible retrial.

His defence counsel said: "It's only right that the defence has some opportunity to prepare for that."

The Lord Justice General, sitting with Lord Clarke and Lord Marnoch, granted the request to adjourn until June 8, and added: "The appellant will be remanded in custody."

Fraser, who sat still in the dock, was then led away by two guards, watched by members of Arlene's family.

Speaking outside the court, Arlene's sister, Carol Gillies, said: "Obviously we don't want to say too much, we don't want to jeopardise the case.

"It is a very difficult time for us just now, we feel as if we have been hit by a London bus to be perfectly honest.

"This has been an extremely difficult couple of days for us, obviously there is a huge amount of publicity.

"We are a very quiet family, we have been thrown into the limelight."