A claim by police killer David Bieber that his "whole life" prison sentence was a breach of his human rights has been rejected by the Court of Appeal.

But the court held that the particular facts of Bieber's case, "horrifying though they were", did not justify a "life means life" sentence.

The former US marine, convicted four years ago of murdering Pc Ian Broadhurst, was told he will now serve a minimum term of 37 years before being considered for release on licence.

Three judges headed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, rejected argument by defence lawyers that whole-life jail terms in principle amounted to a breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that no-one shall be subjected to "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

Bieber, 42, was found guilty by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court in 2004 of the murder of Pc Broadhurst in Leeds on Boxing Day the previous year.

Pc Broadhurst, 34, was shot at point-blank range during a routine check on a stolen vehicle.

Bieber was also convicted of the attempted murders of Pc Broadhurst's colleagues, Pcs Neil Roper and James Banks.

He became one of only 25 people at the time to have been given a whole-life sentence in England and Wales.

Bieber had claimed a friend, a fellow US national from Florida, was the gunman, but refused to name him.

In October 2006, the Court of Appeal rejected Bieber's appeal against his convictions, saying the evidence against him was "overwhelming".