The sister of shamed footballer Adam Johnson has claimed that he has lost an appeal against his conviction and prison sentence for child sex offences.
The former Sunderland winger’s sister, Faye, shared the news on Twitter – where she has been actively campaigning for her brother’s conviction to be quashed since he was jailed in March.
She wrote: ‘Absolutely devastated that “the single Judge has rejected my brother’s appeal against sentence and conviction”, but I can assure every supporter that it has me stronger and I will never give up.
‘I will keep everyone posted as to the next steps.’
She added: ‘Also my appeal page has been temporarily removed but will be back up and running very soon with the link to my website.
‘Thank you to everyone for your continued support daily it means a lot and keeps me going.’
She has also established the Adam Johnson’s Appeal Fight Facebook page, but the page has since been taken down.
Johnson was jailed for six years in March for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan.
The 28-year-old’s trial heard that he had kissed and sexually touched the girl in his Range Rover after driving to a secluded spot in County Durham.
Johnson had previously been arrested for possessing extreme pornography, and pre-trial hearings heard that police found medicines locked in a safe which indicated that he may have been suffering from sexually transmitted infections.