They are right, what I did was professionally unforgiveable, but I did it because I would not have been able to live with myself knowing that Brookes was out there and could have killed again. Mr Chittenden, of Aston-on-Trent, said: “I have nothing at all against the SRA for what they did to me because I admitted it and they are just doing their job.

There is also a palpable tendency nowadays for the police to yield to pressure from the press in the matters of both detection and prosecution, and they are apparently suffering from the media bends.Miss Siddons's late grandmother, Flo Siddons, campaigned hard to bring Brookes to justice and was handed a string of awards for her tireless work. However, his defence collapsed the trial, and he was never convicted. Ever since then, Thatcherist politicians have taken up his example, using "spin" and jaw-flapping measures to scupper public intelligence over matters of national importance while they squander the nation's heritage for their own personal success. After the trial the step-son retracted his claim that his step-father had been involved. Brookes was later tried and convicted, but appealed against the verdict in 1998, saying he could not get a fair trial following publicity about the case, but his appeal was rejected.

His conviction followed a rare civil suit brought by Lynn's family after police failed to charge him with the murder. It was only then that Derbyshire Police, who accepted criticism of the way they had handled the case, charged Brookes with the murder. At the end of the trial we were just over the moon that we had got justice for Lynn. That was all we ever wanted." Lynn's grandmother Florence Siddons, 83, who campaigned to bring her killer to justice, was in court to hear the appeal judges say they had "no lurking doubt" about the safety of 53-year-old Brookes's conviction.

It would be interesting to know what the people of Derby think I should have done. Read More Related Articles A friend of 16-year-old Lynn, Fitzroy Brookes, confessed to the murder, but was acquitted at his trial after accusing his stepfather Michael of the murder. Murdered Derby teenager Lynn Siddons (left) and Michael Brookes (right), the man who killed her (Image: Derby Telegraph)

A 20-year dispute over who murdered teenager Lynn Siddons on a canal towpath in Derby has ended after the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction against Michael Brookes. But while speaking to his teenage client before and during the trial, it became clear to him that the real killer was the boy's stepfather, Michael Brookes.Lynn's mother, Gail Halford, 53, said: "We are really pleased because he would have been a free man if he had won the appeal. Now he must serve his sentence. He deserved what he got." Flo Siddons and her family fought to find the man who stabbed 16-year-old Lynn Siddons more than 40 times. It also highlights the need for the right to appeal against indecent or unreliable decisions made by judges, juries and courts. A defendant must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and there are many jury decisions like this in which this criterion has not been observed. The memorial was arranged by British Waterways and is located about two miles from Lynn's home in Sinfin.

The plaque reads: "In loving memory of Lynn Siddons, 16 years old, tragically killed April 3 1978 - deep in our heart you will stay, loved and remembered every day." This episode contains descriptions of crimes and events that some listeners may find disturbing or upsetting, plus there is a reference contained within the episode to a racial slur and the use of a discriminatory term that some may find offensive. It is contained within solely as it forms an integral part of a statement in the overall story canon, is not meant to cause offence, and categorically does not reflect the views of either myself, or the show.Lynn Siddons did not get justice, and for many years her female relatives turned their need for this on to the step-father, Michael Brookes, who experienced years of persecution with their campaign. He found it increasingly impossible to get employment, and he was willing and open in TV interviews about his situation. He said: “In the papers the SRA says that by admitting these actions it constituted conduct that is completely unacceptable on the part of a solicitor and they are absolutely right. In 1991 the three women turned to the civil courts, which are noted for having a cavalier attitude to culpability in criminal cases, and they prosecuted the step-father there. The women saw the frenzy with which they had hounded Brookes for so many years as the explanation for the 43 stab wounds and the messy finish, but this didn't accord with the other part of the story that their case was based on, which was that Brookes had only held the girl and that he had given the knife to his step-son instead. His conviction followed a rare civil suit brought by Lynn's family after police decided not to charge him with murder. He was one of three men to set up Smith Partnership in the 1980s and 18-months ago said goodbye to the courtroom after a long and distinguished career.