Shields "confession" man offered £40k to pass lie detector

by Karl Walderman. Published Fri 03 Jul 2009 13:11, Last updated: 2009-07-03
Graham Sankey
Graham Sankey

The man who retracted a confession to the crime for which Liverpool fan Michael Shields was convicted has been challenged to take a lie detector test.

A £40,000 purse has been put up by an annoymous businessman as bounty to Graham Sankey if he can successfully pass a polygraph test.

Sankey, 23, admitted attacking restaurant worker, Martin Georgiev, in the Black Sea resort of Varna, after watching Liverpool win the 2005 European Champions League in Turkey.

Despite him admitting the attack, the judge at Shields' trial in Bulgaria refused to accept the signed confession and convicted Michael instead.

Student Michael, 22, was first jailed for 15 years which was reduced to ten on appeal.

A public appeal in Liverpool raised to "compensation" demanded by the Bulgarians and Michael was repatriated to serve-out his sentence in the UK.

Since then a major campaing has been mounted to prove Michael's innocence. New evidence was presented and he also passsed a polygraph test with flying colours.

Now Sankey is being challenged to take the same test as Michael, and the huge bounty will hopefully tempt the Liverpool electrician.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw originally decided he did not have the power to grant a royal pardon because it was a matter for Bugarian justice.

A High Court judicial review ruled that Mr Straw was wrong in that view and the Justice Secretary then ordered a review of the case by a top QC which was followed by a Merseyside Police investigation.

On 2nd of July, Straw "provisionally" refused to pardon Michael.





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