Conrad Black, the peer who once owned The Daily Telegraph, has asked for a pardon from President Bush as part of a last ditch attempt to get out of jail early.

While American presidents are often swamped with appeals for clemency in their last days of office, it is unlikely Lord Black will be heard as the American economy provides ample distraction for George W Bush, especially as he is faced with the perils of bailing out white collar workers from their bad investment decisions.

Under the US Constitution, the president can grant pardons and shorten sentences. But it is highly unlikely that President Bush's successor Barack Obama would grant clemency as a Democrat, fierce about white collar crime. Mr Obama takes office on January 20.

The Canadian-born peer has been in prison since March when he began serving a six and a half year sentence for defrauding shareholders of Hollinger International, the then owner of The Daily Telegraph newspaper. He is currently serving his sentence in a prison in Florida.

Lord Black's lawyers recently submitted legal bills to his former publishing company, some of which referred to work done in pursuit of a clemency plea.

The push for clemency comes after a federal appeals court unanimously upheld Black's conviction this summer.

Black and three former colleagues were accused of swindling the company -- once the world's third largest publisher of English-language newspapers -- out of $6.1 million by giving themselves illegal bonuses.

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