British supporters of veteran entertainer Rolf Harris have called on Australian authorities to reinstate the convicted sex offender's honours.
The small, but vocal group are behind an online petition fighting to have Harris' case reviewed due to their "deep concerns" about evidence given at the trial. The petition has been signed by more than 700 people, including Harris' daughter Bindi Nicholls.
"I ask the Australian authorities to reinstate anything they might have taken away from Mr Harris and to give him the benefit of the doubt that many people have," campaign spokeswoman Anne Pyke said.
"That is until the time comes that we are sure of the true and fair outcome he deserves, whatever that may be."
In June last year, the 85-year-old was found guilty on 12 counts of indecent assault which occurred between 1968 and 1986. A London court sentenced him to five years and nine months in prison.
As a result, his hometown of Perth removed a commemorative plaque, and the nearby town of Bassendean, where Harris was raised, took steps to remove references to the disgraced entertainer.
Harris was also stripped of his appointments of Officer and Member of the Order of Australia.
Mrs Pyke said she believed the trial lacked "real objective evidence" and that the guilty verdicts had "caused deliberate vilification of a man" supporters believed had "endured a miscarriage of justice".
"I know that many Australians followed the trial and one person in particular who is a friend of mine from Wollongong was horrified when he heard Mr Harris had been found guilty saying that they were 'despicable verdicts'," she said.
Australian legal experts suggested that lobbying was "futile" now that Harris' "appeal had been dismissed and a further appeal right abandoned".
"I think the test here, and I expect in the UK, is there has to be a real and substantial injustice, which means either the jury have to have either been misdirected, or have arrived at an unsafe verdict that misapplied the law or was not open on any view of the evidence," HHG legal group managing director Simon Creek said.
"It is made worse by the fact Harris appealed, that was dismissed by a single judge and then he allowed the next milestone, an appeal to several judges, to lapse and effectively abandoned his appeal rights."
The campaigners acknowledged they could not appeal Mr Harris' conviction themselves, but hoped to alert newly appointed British justice minister Michael Gove to their concerns.
"We can put pressure on the authorities to review [the case] and show them the holes in the evidence. We intend to point out to the authorities a huge area of work the police neglected to do," Mrs Pyke wrote on the petition page.
Mr Creek said the minister may be able to direct prosecutors "not to oppose the application for a retrial" but that a decision to allow an appeal ultimately sat with the judiciary and would be based on law, rather than political influence.
"Making such a call would certainly be something that most elected officials would be very circumspect about doing. After all, they will be concerned about re-election and in the Harris case, there is not an outcry by the majority of the population to overturn his conviction," he said.
He said another option was available – albeit a "highly discretionary and rarely exercised" one.
"Like Australia, the Royal Prerogative of Mercy exists in England and can be used to pardon anyone, or order an appeal where one has otherwise been refused or the law does not allow it," Mr Creek said.
"Applicants are usually required to have to exhausted all other avenues before seeking a pardon or a final right of appeal.
"At this stage it would be an unpopular and unlikely decision – but it is technically possible nonetheless."
Bassendean mayor John Gangell said the council had "no intention" of restoring Mr Harris' honours, but would discuss the matter "if he was ever acquitted" of his crimes.
