A RETIRED judge has published a book about the most controversial murders in Huddersfield’s history.

Patrick Robertshaw of Scissett has scoured 500 pages of testimony about the trial of Alfred Moore.

The Kirkheaton man was hanged in 1952, a year after two policemen were shot dead at his farm.

Mr Robertshaw, 67, is convinced the wrong man was executed for the murder of Det Insp Duncan Fraser, 45, and Pc Gordon Jagger, 42.

The former judge’s new book, No Smoking Gun, looks into the case.

On the night of July 14, 1951, 10 officers surrounded Moore’s farmhouse at Cockley Hill, Kirkheaton, hoping to catch the notorious burglar returning home with stolen goods.

Two officers were shot while trying to arrest a man as he approached the house.

Det Insp Fraser died at the scene and Pc Jagger was rushed to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Moore was arrested at his farmhouse a few hours after the shooting – but the gun was never found. One theory is that the killer fled, leaving him to take the blame.

As he lay dying in his hospital bed, Pc Jagger picked out Moore from a nine-man identity parade.

This evidence was crucial in securing the conviction of Moore, who was hanged at Armley Prison the following year.

Mr Robertshaw, who grew up in Elland, said: “The fact that there wasn’t a smoking gun is the most important aspect. On the prosecution case, the gun was there to be found.

“Alfred Moore didn’t come out until a couple of hours after the shooting. The gun wasn’t found within the cordon, suggesting that whoever shot the policemen fled the scene.”

Mr Robertshaw has studied 500 pages about the case, including court transcripts, Moore’s statement to his solicitor and a brief prepared for the trial.

The information was made available to him by Doreen Dean, widow of Moore’s junior defence counsel Raymond Dean QC.

Mr Robertshaw believes the jury was wrong to put so much weight on the identification parade by Pc Jagger’s death-bed.

“By the standards of the day, it was inevitable from the moment that Alfred Moore was identified at Pc Jagger’s bedside that he was going to be convicted,” he said.

“But by the standards of today, I don’t think the case would get off the ground.

“In 1951 no-one recognised the problems with visual identification, it was regarded as strong evidence.

“Nowadays, when juries are faced with visual evidence, they are given various warnings about the problems with it.

“I don’t believe Moore’s conviction could have happened today.”

Mr Robertshaw, who worked as a judge from 1994 to 2010, said writing the book had confirmed his opposition to the death penalty.

“I’ve always been strongly opposed on moral grounds and also because of the possibility of a miscarriage of justice,” he said.

But Mr Robertshaw believes there is little chance of Moore’s conviction being overturned.

In December the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) announced it would not refer the conviction to the Court of Appeal.

Mr Robertshaw said: “The CCRC isn’t interested because it happened too long ago.

“They have a huge backlog of possible miscarriages involving people who are still alive.”

No Smoking Gun is published by Bright Pen for £9.99 and to order a copy email PSR6477@aol.com or write to Authors OnLine Ltd, 19 The Cinques, Gamlingay, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 3NU.

It is the second book by Mr Robertshaw. His first book, The Inglorious Twelfth, tells the story of the murder of Halifax six-year-old Mary Hackett in 1953.