Legal chiefs have ruled that the name of William Wallace – Scotland's medieval matinee idol – can never be cleared.

Scotland on Sunday can reveal that the body that examines potential miscarriages of justice in Scotland was asked to look into the ADVERTISEMENT700-year-old conviction of Wallace but refused to do so.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) decided it had no jurisdiction over the London court that found him guilty of treason.

And its English sister organisation has confirmed it will never pursue the Wallace case, which is regarded by historians as being based on trumped-up charges against the man who led the Scottish army in the wars of independence.

Most historians have long recognised that William Wallace was wrongly convicted of treason in London in 1305.

The knight – effectively the ruler of Scotland – had been accused of betraying an English crown that he did not recognise.

Gerry Sinclair, chief executive of the SCCRC, said last night that the organisation would not carry out such a review.