A ROYAL Marine who shot an injured Taliban fighter in Afghanistan has won an appeal against his murder conviction.

Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 42, known as Marine A in initial hearings, had the conviction quashed by five judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London.

They replaced it with manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility.

There will now be a further hearing at a date to be fixed to decide on the sentence he now has to serve.

South Dorset MP Richard Drax said he was "absolutely delighted" about today's decision.

The former Coldstream Guard has been campaigning on behalf of Blackman since he visited him in Lincoln prison in December 2014.

"I am absolutely delighted for Alexander Blackman and his dedicated and loving wife, Claire," Mr Drax said.

"Today, justice was done and it is very sad that it has taken all this time four all the facts to be taken into account and the right verdict to be reached."

He added: "I have so many thanks to Freddy Forsyth, Jonathan Goldberg, and the Daily Mail who have been incredibly supportive.

"But we musn't forget the public and the Royal Marines' part in backing the team."

Blackman, from Taunton, Somerset, who was not present for the ruling in the packed courtroom on Wednesday, was convicted in November 2013 by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 10 years.

The minimum term was later reduced to eight years because of the combat stress disorder he was suffering from.

MP for South Dorset Richard Drax has been supporting the Blackman family with the appeal.  

Blackman's wife, Claire, said she was "delighted", adding: "This is a crucial decision and one which better reflects the circumstances my husband found himself in during that terrible tour in Afghanistan."

The decision was announced by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas.

At a hearing in February the judges were urged to overturn Blackman's "unsafe" murder conviction on the basis of "uncontradicted" evidence from three psychiatrists that he was suffering from a mental illness - an adjustment disorder - at the time of the killing.

They heard that at the time of the 2011 incident, he was serving with Plymouth-based 42 Commando in Helmand province in "ghastly" conditions which were a "breeding ground" for mental health problems.

In Wednesday's ruling, the judges said Blackman had been "an exemplary soldier before his deployment to Afghanistan in March 2011".

They ruled: "The appellant suffered from quite exceptional stressors ... during the time of that deployment which increasingly impacted on him the longer he was in command at CP Omar."

The judges said it was "clear that a consequence was that he had developed a hatred for the Taliban and a desire for revenge".

At the time of the killing "the patrol remained under threat from other insurgents".

The judges said: "Given his prior exemplary conduct, we have concluded that it was the combination of the stressors, the other matters to which we have referred and his adjustment disorder that substantially impaired his ability to form a rational judgment."

Mrs Blackman emerged on to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice to applause from a crowd of veterans - including three cheers for her - and the honking of taxi horns.

She said: "We must now hope to secure a significant reduction in the sentence."

She thanked her husband's "fantastic" legal team and the "tens of thousands of supporters, especially from the Royal Marine family, who have stood behind us throughout and played such an important role in getting us to this point".