A murderer could be in line for a £500 compensation payment after judges ruled prison officials did not prepare him for release.

Stuart Quinn, 44, was jailed for life in May 2001 for assaulting David James, 37, following an Old Firm match.

The killer threw Mr James from a first floor window in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, during a party to celebrate Celtic beating Rangers.

He then battered his victim with concrete slabs, causing his death.

Quinn, who was ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years, was jailed alongside two others -Dominic Ferrie and Stephen Nisbet - for the murder.

In May 2016, Quinn instructed lawyers to go to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to seek compensation from the Scottish Government claiming his human right to liberty had been breached.

Quinn said the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) did not take the correct steps to prepare him for release and as a result he would not be set free when his sentence came to an end.

Inmates serving life sentences to be released from custody have to undergo a programme of escorted leave from prison before they are released.

If the inmate shows they are able to do this properly they are then given a period of work placement and unescorted leave from custody.

The murderer said this programme, which takes four years, should have begun in 2015 to allow him time to complete it before his release date in February 2019.

It was not until January 2016 that Quinn was assessed by the prison authorities as requiring coursework to allow him to be placed on the preparation for release programme.

He also argued he was never given a chance to tell the parole board he no longer posed a risk to public safety.

Judge Lord Glennie rejected his argument but on Wednesday civil appeal judges Lady Clark of Calton, Lord Malcolm and Lord McGhie overturned their colleague's decision.

In their judgment, Lord Malcolm wrote: "It is of fundamental importance that a person does not remain in detention without proper justification.

"If the justification is public protection, it has been authoritatively decided that it goes hand in glove with the prisoner having a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate at or about his release date that he is acceptably safe to be resettled into the community."

At the beginning of proceedings, Quinn's lawyers indicated they would be seeking damages of £500 should their appeal be successful.