British editor in Dubai jailed for killing wife with hammer

Jane Matthew was hit twice on the head with a hammer

The family of a British woman killed by her husband in Dubai says "justice has not been done" after he was jailed for 10 years.

Francis Matthew killed his 62-year-old wife Jane by hitting her twice on the head with a hammer at their villa in the city, the Dubai Court of the First Instance heard.

Matthew, 61, former editor of the Gulf News, had blamed the attack on robbers.

The court said he would be deported after his sentence.

He had initially been charged with premeditated murder which could have seen him get the death penalty but judges changed the charge to "beating which led to death", the Gulf News reported.

Francis Mathew used to be editor of the Gulf News

The couple had been arguing about money at their three-bedroom villa in the Jumeirah neighbourhood of Dubai - a city in the United Arab Emirates, on the Persian Gulf.

The attack took place on 4 July 2017, the court heard.

Mrs Matthew's family, who were in the court, said the crime was a "deliberate act", adding: "Arguments about money can arise in any marriage and cannot justify this killing."

In a statement, they said they wanted his sentence increased on appeal.

They said: "Jane was a loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and aunt.

"Losing her in such a brutal manner has left the family both bewildered and shocked."

Matthew had edited the Gulf News between 1995 and 2005 and was the paper's editor-at-large at the time of the killing.

The Foreign Office said it had "been in contact with a British man and his family since his arrest in Dubai in July 2017".