Former British banker Rurik Jutting appealed his conviction for double murder in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with his lawyers saying the trial judge had misdirected the jury on his “abnormal mind”.

Jutting admitted brutally killing two Indonesian women in his upscale apartment in 2014, but denied murder because of his mental state, claiming “diminished responsibility” due to alcohol and drug abuse and sexual disorders.

Defence lawyer Gerard McCoy argued the judge during the court case in November 2016 had wrongly told the jury to look for mental "disorders" rather than the broader classification: "abnormality of the mind".

"The judge has wrongly and prescriptively directed the jury that they should look for disorders,” he said.

The jury unanimously found the Cambridge graduate guilty of murder and he was handed a life sentence.

The trial shocked those in court because of the graphic details of him mutilating and torturing his victims, Sumarti Ningsih, 23, and Seneng Mujiasih, 26.

Jutting tortured Ms Ningsih for three days before slashing her throat with a serrated knife and stuffing her body into a suitcase.