A former Kent County Council energy boss who stole more than £2 million has returned to court claiming he is the victim of an injustice and wants £1,400 given back to him.

Ross Knowles, who used to live near Maidstone , was jailed for seven years in 2012 after a jury found him guilty of fraud.

A judge later ordered him to repay the money - most of which was found stashed in bank accounts.

Since his release from jail, he has claimed he is the victim of an abuse of process - and wants a £1,400 insurance cheque for a car accident returned to him.

But after a two hour hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, Judge David Griffith-Jones QC threw out his claim - and ordered him to pay another £500 for court costs.

Cambridge-educated Knowles, 49, formerly of Larking Drive, Allington, represented himself at the hearing and claimed he objected to the way the prosecution had been conducted.

But the judge told him that only the Court of Appeal could consider those complaints and not a crown court.

Knowles was convicted of one charge of fraud involving British Gas and cleared of a second involving NPower.

The father-of-two, who denied any wrongdoing, earned £66,000 a year as head of energy procurement for the south east region, which bought gas and electricity for KCC and other local authorities at the best prices.

Prosecutor Allison Clare had told the jury told that it had been a "simple" fraud.

A body called Laser (Local Authority South East Region), dealt with “an awful lot of money” buying energy for KCC and about 120 other local authorities.

Knowles asked British Gas to add an extra charge at their end as a “comfort blanket”, which would be reclaimed by KCC and Laser at the end of the year.

Ms Clare said: “British Gas charged that extra amount and during the course of the year a huge amount built up as a result."

After a year of the contract running, Knowles submitted an invoice for repayment of part of the money, about £400,000. But the cash went into his own account.

In the latest hearing, Judge Griffith-Jones said the convicted fraudster didn't want a stay of execution for the order under the Proceeds of Crime Act "but a re-examination of proceedings which were concluded by a court back in 2013".

He told him that his legal argument "however, careful articulated in writing and orally was mis-conceived"and in those circumstances "must be refused."

Knowles - who once drove a £50,000 Jaguar car had now signed over the matrimonial home to his former wife and he no longer had any assets.

Prosecutor Thomas Tiler said the claim for remainder of the £2.1 million monies owing - £29,170 - would now be dropped.

In 2012, in the wake of Knowles' conviction, a damning review of the energy buying company ran by KCC identified major shortcomings in the way it was overseen by councillors and senior officials.

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