A Scottish man wanted for murder in the US has failed in his long-running legal battle against extradition.

Phillip Harkins has been fighting against his transfer to the US to face the charge since 2003, in what has been described as Britain's longest-running extradition case.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg released its ruling on Monday.

Harkins, originally from Greenock in Inverclyde, was indicted for murder after Joshua Hayes was killed by a gunshot wound to the head during a robbery in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1999.

The 38-year-old denied any involvement and has contested his extradition since it was requested by US authorities in March 2003.

Harkins, who had been released on bail, returned to Scotland in 2002 but was jailed the following year for killing a woman in a road crash in Greenock.

In its findings on Monday, the court ruled his arguments against extradition should be declared "inadmissible" and rejected his claims of facing a "flagrant denial of justice" if he was to stand trial in the US.

Harkins had argued his extradition would violate articles three and six of the European Convention of Human Rights, relating to inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to a fair trial.

His lawyers said that if convicted in Florida he would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The court declared both complaints inadmissible and said its decision was final.

It also ruled an interim measure in place to stay Harkins' extradition should be lifted.

After losing a number of attempts to block his extradition, Harkins took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, where he successfully petitioned for a final hearing.

He had previously argued that if extradited "he risked the death penalty or a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole".

His lawyers say that it would be a breach of his human rights to send him back to the US.