Dando jury 'under no pressure'

Barry George denies murdering TV presenter Jill Dando

The judge in the Jill Dando murder trial has told jurors they were under no pressure to hurry their deliberations.

The jury of seven women and five men have spent two nights in a hotel after failing to reach a verdict.

On Friday morning Mr Justice Gage returned to the Old Bailey and told them: "You must have as much time as you need. I do not want you to feel you are under any pressure."

He said there would be no problem sitting on Saturday if they needed more time and told them: "Take it day by day".

Miss Dando was shot through the head

Barry George, 41, denies murdering the BBC TV presenter, who was shot through the head with a single bullet outside her home in Gowan Avenue, Fulham, south west London, on 26 April 1999.

On Thursday the jury watched again a video identification parade.

They spent nearly two hours in court watching the videos of five witnesses attending the parades, then returned to their room to consider their verdict.

The jury were sent out by the judge on Wednesday, after hearing six weeks of evidence.

Forensic evidence

Before sending them out Mr Justice Gage told the jury to concentrate on the evidence they had heard in court with a "cool head and dispassionate view".

In his summing-up he also reminded them of the evidence.

He said they had to be convinced by three main planks of the prosecution's case.

These were the implausibility of Mr George's alibi; the strength of the eyewitnesses who placed him in Gowan Avenue and the forensic evidence against him.

He spoke about the particle of firearm discharge residue found on the defendant's inside pocket - a result, according to the defence, of innocent contamination.