A husband who murdered his wife in a cottage fire to pocket £250,000 life insurance yesterday failed in his latest bid to prove he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Jong Rhee, 42, was jailed for life at Chester Crown Court in April 1998 after he was convicted of murdering his wife Natalie, 25, who died from inhaling fumes at the holiday cottage in Llanrwst, in the Conwy Valley, Snowdonia, on April 15, 1997.

Rhee, of Crystal Palace, south London, torched the cottage to kill his wife in order to claim £250,000 insurance cash and cover mounting gambling debts.

His wife, of Field Gardens, Steventon, was the victim of a "calculated, cold-blooded murder for gain", the trial judge said when passing sentence. At the trial, the prosecution claimed Rhee murdered his wife by "setting fire to the bed and breakfast accommodation" where they were staying.

His lawyers insisted the forensic evidence on the fire's origins was inconclusive and disputed claims that Rhee had set two fires in order to ensure his wife's death.

Rhee's case reached London's High Court yesterday as he challenged a refusal of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) - the independent body which investigates possible miscarriages of justice - to refer his case back for a fresh Appeal Court hearing.

His barrister, Hugh Southey, said there was compelling new forensic evidence which cast doubt on the safety of his conviction.

But Lord Justice Richards - sitting with Mr Justice Toulson - said the CCRC had rigorously analysed the fresh evidence, presented by an expert on fire deaths, and concluded that it was insufficient to justify referring the case to the Court of Appeal. Its decision was "not tainted by any arguable error of law", concluded Lord Justice Richards.