LIVERPOOL City Council last night agreed to make an all-party plea to the Foreign Office to help seek a pardon for Michael Shields.
They want the Foreign Office to press the Bulgarian president on new evidence that has now come forward that could prove the innocence of the Liverpool football fan who has been convicted of attempted manslaughter.
He is currently finishing his sentence in a prison at Hindley near Wigan.
Labour leader, Cllr Joe Anderson, who has campaigned for a re-trail or a pardon, told city councillors last night that he had met two eye-witnesses to the incident in which a Bulgarian man was badly injured.
“They told me they saw exactly what had happened and how one man had kicked the victim and another had hit him with a stone. They are too afraid to reveal their identities.
“It is important that this evidence is considered so that a person who is completely innocent of any crime can be freed. I want Interpol and the Bulgarian authorities to consider this fresh evidence,” he said.
Cllr Anderson’s plea to the Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, was backed by city council leader Cllr Warren Bradley.
It stated: “The council calls for the Chief Executive (Colin Hilton) to contact the Foreign Office to ask for a meeting to discuss the council’s concerns about Michael Shields’ conviction. The chief executive will convey the fact that new evidence exists and that we would like to present it to the Bulgarian authorities.”
