A NURSE serving life for the murder of two patients appeared in court today in a bid to have his convictions overturned.

Benjamin Geen, 29, was allowed to be present to hear submissions made on his behalf by his barrister at a hearing before three Court of Appeal judges in London.

Geen, who has always protested his innocence, is applying for permission to challenge his convictions as “unsafe”.

Geen was jailed for two murders and causing grievous bodily harm to a further 15 patients at the Horton Hospital in Banbury.

He was accused of injecting patients with drugs which caused them to stop breathing. so he could revive them.

He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 30 years at Oxford Crown Court in May 2006.

At the centre of the proceedings before Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Holroyde and Mr Justice Kenneth Parker are grounds of appeal relating to fresh expert evidence.

One of the arguments put forward by Geen’s barrister Dr Michael Powers yesterday was that evidence at the trial about the rarity of respiratory arrests in an accident and emergency department was “valueless” and should not have been put forward.

Lady Justice Hallett said everyone was in agreement that respiratory arrest in accident and emergency, outside the operating theatre, was a rare event.

Dr Powers replied that what was not known and not agreed was “how rare an event it is”.

He added: “It is impossible, in our submission, to draw an inference from the fact that something is rare that there must be some other explanation for it.”

Dr Powers told the judges: “Rare events do happen.”

He argued that “anecdotal” evidence given by witnesses on that issue had an “overwhelming prejudicial effect” and should have been excluded.

Fifteen patients recovered shortly after developing breathing difficulties.

David Onley, 75, from Deddington, died on January 21, 2004, and Anthony Bateman, 65, from Banbury, died on January 6, 2004, shortly after they were admitted to the accident and emergency department of the hospital, where Geen worked as a staff nurse.

At first, doctors could not explain the abnormally high level of respiratory arrests.

Suspicion fell on Geen, a lieutenant in the Territorial Army, when it emerged that the incidents had taken place while he was on duty.

At the 2006 trial it was said that he injected patients so that he could then take part in reviving them.

Jailing him for life, Mr Justice Crane told Geen: “It seems that you relished the excitement and the feeling of taking control but you must have known quite well you were playing with their lives.

“A chilling fact is that when you were stopped at the hospital you had in your pocket a syringe, loaded wth anaesthetic drug and I have no doubt that you intended to continue what you were doing.”

The appeal hearing is due to resume tomorrow.

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