A mother and her three daughters have been found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice following the murder of two youngsters.

Anum Khan, nine, died in the arson attack on her home in Magdalen Road, east Oxford, on August 26, 1997. Her brother Majid, 15, died two days later from severe burns.

Last November, five men were found guilty of their murder following an eight-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court. All five are now serving life sentences. The jury heard two of the men squirted petrol through the letterbox before setting it alight. The arson attack happened following a long-standing feud between two Asian families.

At a second trial at Birmingham last week Parveen Sharif, 42, of Morrell Avenue, Oxford, and daughters Siemah Sharif, 20, Sadaf Sharif, 19, and Asfa Sharif, 17, were all found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Parveen Sharif is the mother of Haroon Sharif, 22, one of the five men convicted of the murders.

The court heard that Mrs Sharif and her daughters lied to police officers during the murder investigation to provide a false alibi for Haroon. Sentencing has been adjourned until a date to be fixed.

Story date: Tuesday 19 October

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