Freed Dando Suspect "was a Rapist and a Stalker"

Jurors were also not told that George had convictions for rape and indecent assault, had an obsession with Jill’s lookalike Princess Diana and once tried to break into Kensington Palace with a dagger and rope and wearing an SAS gas mask.

The retrial jury of eight women and four men returned yesterday’s verdict after deliberating for a day and a half. George, who lived half a mile from Jill, released the brief statement: “I am overwhelmed.”

George ... convicted in 2001

His solicitor Jeremy Moore said: “Barry George is an innocent man. He spent eight years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Those years would have been better spent looking for the real killer.”

Police and Crown lawyers insisted last night that they were right to prosecute George.

The case will now be reviewed. But senior detectives said it was extremely unlikely a new investigation will be launched unless further information comes to light.