Jury out in diplomat murder case

Damian Broom was a father-of-one

A jury has retired to consider its verdict in the trial of a Colombian diplomat accused of killing a mugger.

Jairo Soto-Mendoza, 45, denies murdering Damian Broom, 23, near a supermarket in Perivale, west London, in May last year.

The prosecution at the Old Bailey said Soto-Mendoza set out in "anger and retaliation" after his 21-year-old son was mugged by Mr Broom and another man.

The young father was found stabbed in the chest and died an hour later.

Soto-Mendoza, of Greenford, west London, denied taking a knife with him and said Mr Broom pulled one out on him when he found him hiding in bushes following a chase.

The commando-trained Army sergeant major attached to the Colombian Embassy in London, said he acted instinctively to throw Mr Broom to the ground before running off.

The jury was later sent home for the night.