Man admits to killing his father

A man suffering from a personality disorder has admitted killing his elderly father who died in a fire in his bedroom in north-west London.

Michael Johnson, 49, punched and kicked his father Professor Lee Johnson, 81, before starting the fire at the house in Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead.

Johnson pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at the Old Bailey.

He was remanded in custody before being sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Johnson was said to have a combination of disorders including brain damage leading to a personality disorder, epilepsy, paranoia caused by a drug which stopped him having fits, and psychosis.

Prof Johnson was considered to be the leading authority on French artist Eugene Delacroix, discovering four unknown paintings by the master while studying at the Courtauld Institute.