The case was referred back to the court of appeal by the CCRC in May 2002 (see article below) and the men's convctions were quashed in June 2003.

The case was investigated by Just Television and broadcast as part of its Trial and Error series. The program was presented by David Jessel, who also writes about the case in his 1994 book TRIAL AND ERROR. Chapter 7 of the book, Gary Mills and Tony Poole - 'A Murder by Neglect', provides an incisive view of the case, as well as a fascinating insight into the work of investigative journalists. This is a long article, and has, therefore, been presented as a printable version in "pdf" format (requires Adobe Acrobat). Click on the icon above to view and print out the document, or right click and use "Save target as" to save to disk.

Two men who spent 14 years in prison for the murder of a drug dealer yesterday had their convictions quashed by the court of appeal, which ruled that police put misleading evidence before their trial.

The court confirmed that Anthony Poole, 41, and Gary Mills, 43, should be freed, citing two reasons raised at earlier appeals. The men had been released on bail last week pending yesterday's announcement.

They were jailed for life at Bristol crown court in January 1990 for the fatal stabbing of Hensley Wiltshire during a fight at a flat in Gloucester in January 1989.

Mr Mills and Mr Poole, both from Gloucester, served the minimum 10-year tariff for their sentences but refused to be released on parole until their case was re-examined. Last year it was referred back to the court of appeal by the criminal cases review commission.

At the royal courts of justice in London yesterday, Lord Justice Auld, Mr Justice Keith and Mr Justice Simon said their appeals were being allowed on two grounds: the prosecution withholding evidence that might have undermined the testimony of a witness, and a detective's misleading "hearsay" summary of an account given by another witness, Ian Juke, who did not attend the trial.

Mr Mills and Mr Poole now plan to sue Gloucestershire police. "The judgment doesn't go nearly in depth as it should in damning the police," Mr Poole said after yesterday's hearing. "After 14 years, they say a few words and that's it." Mr Mills added: "I would rather the police were prosecuted than us having to sue them. Justice certainly hasn't been done."

The men were alleged to have beaten Wiltshire with a crowbar and stabbed him 17 times. Mr Mills said he had acted in self-defence after being repeatedly attacked by Wiltshire, and Mr Poole denied taking part in the fight.

At the centre of their battle to clear their names was the role of Detective Inspector Trevor Gladding, one of the police leading the inquiry. He sued the Channel 4 programme Trial and Error after it alleged he had warned Mr Juke, who saw the fight, not to attend a committal hearing. The jury upheld Channel 4's defence of justification.

In its judgment yesterday the appeal court said: "DI Gladding incorrectly gave the impression that the prosecution had required [Mr Juke] to attend those proceedings ... This was dishonestly misleading evidence."

One of the grounds of appeal was that the close examination in the libel trial of Det Insp Gladding's conduct in relation to Mr Juke "revealed a level of impropriety that tainted the whole police investigation".

Gloucestershire police yesterday issued a statement saying it "respects the decision of the court", adding: "We will be examining the judgment in detail before deciding upon any further action ... We are pleased the court found that there was no evidence of systemic corruption or dishonesty."

Two convicted Gloucester murderers have been granted a last-ditch chance to clear their names - but they must wait 18 months to learn the outcome.

Gary Mills and Tony Poole, both from Tredworth, have already served 12 years in jail for killing London drug dealer Hensley Wiltshire in January 1989.

They protested their innocence throughout and a campaign - Set Up For Life - was launched to fight for their freedom.

The pair's appeals against conviction were turned down by the Court of Appeal in 1996 and by the House of Lords in 1997.

But now the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) - a body set up to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice - has agreed to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal.

Set Up For Life campaign manager Russ Spring said: "The CCRC has decided to refer the case back because of the cumulative effect of the discrepancies and misdemeanours in the original investigation that convicted Mills and Poole."

Campaign legal adviser Satish Sekar said: "I am deeply concerned about the methods used to secure and uphold these disgraceful convictions for 13 years.

"Public money has been wasted and justice so badly served by the CCRC taking so long to accepts the merits of arguments that were plain to see right from the start.

"I hope that the injustice of the convictions will be speedily brought to an end."

On January 5, 1989, Wiltshire visited Mills and Poole in a Conduit Street flat. There was a fight and Wiltshire ended up at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital suffering from numerous injuries.

Police interviewed Wiltshire in hospital then took him into custody for further questioning. He was returned to hospital, then taken back to the police station.

His condition deteriorated and he was rushed back to hospital where he died.

Mills, now 42, and Poole, now 39, were arrested, charged with murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on January 26, 1990.

They claimed Wiltshire had been subjected to another attack and that during the trial police scared off a witness who would have corroborated their version of events.

"Now Mills and Poole will have to wait anything up to 18 months for their day in court," said Mr Spring.

"That's a further 18 months above and beyond the sentence they were given, because they will not admit to a crime that they did not commit."