A former British public schoolboy convicted of killing US journalist Daniel Pearl has launched an appeal against his death sentence in Pakistan.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, 46, has been on death row for almost 18 years after being found guilty of kidnapping and beheading the Wall Street Journal reporter in 2002.

A gruesome video of 38-year-old Mr Pearl being murdered by the Al Qaeda fanatic prompted global revulsion but also inspired similar killings by Islamic State.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, 46, has been on death row for almost 18 years after being found guilty of kidnapping and beheading the Wall Street Journal reporter in 2002

Lawyers for Sheikh – who attended the same Forest School in East London as former England cricket captain Nasser Hussain – are calling for the High Court in Karachi to rule that his conviction was flawed.

Sheikh, from Wanstead, East London, is believed to have become radicalised while studying at the London School of Economics and fought as a jihadi in Bosnia and Pakistan.

Mr Pearl contacted Sheikh while investigating links between Pakistan and British ‘shoe bomber’ Richard Reid.

They agreed to meet in Karachi in January 2002, but the journalist was snatched by Sheikh.

The execution is now believed to have been carried out by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Al Qaeda chief who was the architect of the 9/11 attacks.

If his legal challenge fails, Sheikh will be granted permission to appeal to Supreme Court judges.