A York man once mistakenly questioned by police in a high-profile child murder investigation has spoken out against the death penalty.

David Martin said that at times he had felt like a 'rat in a trap' as he fought to prove his innocence.

The 79-year-old contacted The Press after new Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson said he would support the return of the death penalty on the grounds that "nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed".

But Mr Martin, from Acomb, said: "It sometimes happens that an innocent person is found guilty of murder, only to be cleared later. If they have been executed, they cannot be brought back to life."

Tory Party deputy chairman Mr Anderson was quickly slapped down by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said said neither he nor his government shared his views.

But Mr Martin said he wanted to speak out because he felt strongly about the issue, having once been mistakenly questioned by the police in connection with the 1983 murder of five-year-old Caroline Hogg. At times, as he was questioned by police, he felt "helpless", he said.

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Caroline disappeared while playing outside her home in Edinburgh on July 8, 1983.

Press reports said she had been seen walking away hand-in-hand with a 'scruffy-looking' man.

The police search for her was the largest in Scottish history at the time. By July 10, Caroline's disappearance was headline news across the UK.

Tragically, her body was found in a ditch close to the M1 in Leicestershire on July 18, 1983.

Scottish serial killer and paedophile Robert Black was ultimately convicted of murdering Caroline and three other girls. But his conviction for Caroline's murder did not come until 1994.

That was how Mr Martin could come under suspicion.

York Press: David MartinDavid Martin (Image: Supplied)

Then 39, he lived in York and worked at the British Library in Boston Spa. But in August 1983 he was on holiday in Scotland.

He says someone saw him and reported him to the police, saying he resembled identikit images of a suspect.

He returned to York - only to have a knock on his door.

It was two detectives, who began asking "leading, mysterious questions". He admits he "didn't know what they were on about", so could give only vague answers.

The following day they came back - and took him to York's main police station, where they resumed questioning him.

Again, at first, he didn't know why. "I think they were hoping to trap me into some kind of admission," he says.

It only slowly became clear they were working on the Caroline Hogg investigation.

Mr Martin says it was like a nightmare. "There is a certain sense of helplessness, like being a rat in a trap," he said.

Eventually, he was able to prove that at the time of Caroline's murder, he had been at a concert in Birmingham. Five people - including his future wife Joyce - confirmed this.

He was released - but it left him with a lifetime conviction that capital punishment was wrong.

"I well remember the difficulty I had in proving my innocence," he said. "If I had not been able to provide an alibi I don't know what would have happened."

Neither North Yorkshire Police nor Police Scotland would comment.