A MURDERER who had been charged with assaulting a fellow inmate at Greenock Prison has had the prosecution against him dropped.

Joseph Henderson — who strangled a police officer's daughter in 2005 — was accused of repeatedly punching the prisoner on the head and body.

But a sheriff deserted the case after being told there was no CCTV footage of the alleged incident and that police had not cited the man for court after being instructed to do so last December.

Henderson's lawyer said: "The complainer is described as a hostile witness.

"It seems that the prospect of the complainer attending are slim, and prospects of him giving significant evidence even more slim."

The solicitor added: "These proceedings have had a detrimental and disproportionate impact on Mr Henderson.

"The last 15 months have been lost to him as he needs to await the outcome of this case before it is decided how he can move on in the prison system.

"Mr Henderson is a life prisoner with a minimum 12-year term and he is now 16 years and three months into his sentence.

"When this matter arose he was within three months of being transferred to Castle Huntly [open prison]."

The court was told that police officers were instructed to cite the alleged victim on December 1 last year and went to the prison to so on May 12, to be told that the man had been released.

Henderson, 37, throttled his fiancée Pamela Knight — a student nurse — for up to a minute during a drunken row.

He used such force that a cartilage in her throat was fractured.

Sheriff Sheena Fraser refused a Crown motion to adjourn the prison assault trial until later this year and deserted the case.

The sheriff told Henderson: "Balancing up the nature of the alleged offence and what has been said, I consider the balance is in your favour."