Dando accused not giving evidence

Barry George denies killing Jill Dando on her doorstep in west London

The man accused of murdering Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando will not give evidence at his Old Bailey trial.

The defence case for Barry George instead questioned a forensic scientist who disputed fibre evidence claimed to link Mr George to Miss Dando.

Dr Roger Robson said the fibre found on her coat could have come from sources other than Mr George's clothing.

Mr George, 48, denies shooting dead the television presenter on the doorstep of her west London home on 26 April 1999.

Dr Robson said tests that compared a pale blue polyester fibre found on Miss Dando's raincoat to material from a pair of trousers found at Mr George's home had been insufficient to establish a match.

The former Home Office forensic scientist disputed another scientist's claim that the fibre provided "weak support" for the case against Mr George.

"The fibre could have come from sources other than Mr George's trousers - if the fibre was in fact a match," he said.

Other potential sources of the fibre were Miss Dando's fiance Alan Farthing or anybody else in contact with the raincoat, he said.

"It could come from other suits or trousers within Miss Dando's wardrobe or indeed within Mr Farthing's wardrobe. We simply don't know."

'Absence attacks'

A neuropsychiatrist later told the court that brain scans of Mr George had produced "severely abnormal" results.

Professor Michael Kopelman said: "What it shows are repetitive bursts of abnormal brain discharges that last five to ten seconds, then there is five to ten seconds of normality and then it is abnormal again."

Mr Kopelman added that the defendant suffered prolonged "absence attacks" which could last hours.

"Mr George described to me that he can be aware of what's going on around him but he just can't respond."

Miss Dando was a household name after a 10-year TV career

The professor also told the court that Mr George, an epileptic, had a family history of epilepsy and "severe cognitive impairment".

Mr George had an IQ of 75, in the lowest 5% of the population, but scored in the bottom 1% for tests of memory and planning and carrying out tasks, he said.

Mr Kopelman also said that Mr George's behaviour in police interviews, videos of which have been shown to the jury, was "fairly typical".

"His speech was slow and ponderous and hesitant and at times there were very long pauses," he said.

Mr George, of Fulham, is being retried, having first faced trial for the killing in 2001.