Former British soldier David Holden, who killed Aidan McAnespie, is giving up on a legal attempt to clear his name

Earlier this year, 54-year-old David Holden was given a suspended prison sentence for killing Aidan McAnespie in February 1988.

He was the first former armed forces member since the Good Friday Agreement to be found guilty of a Troubles-era crime.

Holden’s bid to have his conviction overturned was due to begin today at the Appeal Court in Belfast.

But unexpectedly, the defense attorney told the three-judge panel that the challenge was being withdrawn. No further details were disclosed.

Lord Justice Treacy then confirmed that the appeal against conviction had been dismissed.

Mr McAnespie was killed as he passed through a security checkpoint in Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone.

The 23-year-old was on his way to a local Gaelic Athletic Association club when he was shot in the back.

Holden was 18 at the time and serving in the Grenadier Guards.

The Englishman admitted firing the fatal shot but said the gun fired accidentally because his hands were wet.

However, after a non-jury trial, Judge O’Hara found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

The judge ruled that Holden incorrectly assumed his machine gun was not cocked when he pointed it at Mr McAnespie and pulled the trigger.

He also emphasized the defendant’s age at the time of the shooting and that there was no intent to kill.

The fact that the gun was cocked and ready to fire was someone else’s fault, according to Judge O’Hara.

In February he handed Holden a three-year prison sentence, but suspended the sentence for three years.