Party throws out Bo Xilai

Britain's embassy in China has welcomed the ruling that Gu Kailai has been convicted, but spared execution for murdering British businessman Neil Heywood. The embassy said it:

"Welcomed the fact that the Chinese authorities have investigated the death of Neil Heywood, and tried those they identified as responsible.

An embassy spokesman also said Britain had:

"Consistently made clear to the Chinese authorities that we wanted to see the trials in this case conform to international human rights standards and for the death penalty not to be applied.

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A Chinese court has given Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted politician Bo Xilai, a suspended death sentence after finding her guilty of the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.

Gu admitted poisoning Neil Heywood in November. She alleged that a business dispute between them led him to threaten her son, Bo Guagua. The sentence means that she is likely to face life in jail.

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A Chinese court is due to deliver its verdict today against Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, on charges of killing British businessman Neil Heywood last year.

Before entering the court, one of Gu's lawyers, Zhou Yuhao, told reporters: "I hope that the court delivers a fair verdict." Gu could receive the death penalty however some lawyers believe she is likely to instead receive a long jail term.

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The Chinese woman accused of killing British businessman Neil Heywood has admitted she was behind the "tragedy" of his death, according to Reuters citing Xinhua news agency.

Gu Kailai said she blamed her actions on a mental breakdown after a threat to her son but added that she will "accept and calmly face any sentence".

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Four Chinese police officers admitted to trying to cover up the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood by the wife of the ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai, a court official said.

Court official Tang Yigan told reporters in the eastern city of Hefei that the four hid evidence of Gu Kailai's involvement in Mr Heywood's murder. Mr Tang did not say why the officers had sought to cover up the murder and made no mention of Mr Bo.

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Ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai's former Chongqing police chief, Wang Lijun could stand trial in the southwestern city of Chengdu as early as next week, The South China Morning Post (£) has reported.

Mr Wang sought temporary refuge at Chengdu's US consulate in February after sources said he told Mr Bo that his wife was suspected of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood.

Mr Wang's flight to the US mission brought the scandal to light, which led to the politician's downfall.

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The son of the woman accused of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood has denied being threatened by Mr Heywood before his death, Reuters has reported.

On Thursday, a Chinese court official said prosecutors believed Gu Kailai, and a family aide, Zhang Xiaojun, killed Heywood by pouring poison down his throat after a business dispute led her to believe Heywood had sent a letter threatening Bo Guagua, then a student at Harvard University.

Mr Heywood and Mr Bo had fallen into dispute over Heywood's demand for a fee to help arrange a £130 million financial transaction, a source told the court.

"I cannot comment on any of the details (of the letter), but I can disclose that there is no such thing as either possessing or transferring £130 million," Mr Bo said in an e-mail sent to the news agency.

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Four police officers accused of covering up the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood will face a court hearing today, Chinese state news has reported.

Xinhua.net reported that the four policemen to be tried are accused of “bending the law to show favouritism”.

The news agency named the former deputy chief of the Chongqing’s Public Security Bureau, Guo Weiguo and Li Yang, former chief of the bureau’s criminal section. Other senior officers on trial include Wang Pengfei and Wang Zhi, both reportedly from the same bureau.

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• Neil Heywood

Four policeman accused of covering up the murder of Briton Neil Heywood are to go on trial today in China, a day after the wife of a former top politician was tried for the killing.

On Thursday, Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai, had a one-day trial.

A court official said she did not contest the charges and a verdict will be delivered at a later date.

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