Test case to challenge race laws

A black man who was found guilty of robbery by an all-white jury was denied a fair trial, human rights judges will be told in Strasbourg today. The landmark hearing could force changes in British laws on race equality, if the court backs the case brought by David Gregory, who was sentenced to five years in jail in 1990.

He says the judge at his Manchester Crown Court trial ignored complaints of racial prejudice among the jury - breaching his rights to a "fair and impartial hearing", safeguarded by the European Convention on Human Rights to which Britain is a signatory.

The judges will deliver the final verdict later this year.