A MAN accused of burgling the home of an ex-government minister has been cleared after a court judge threw the case out.

Benjamin Strong, 20, of Aldrich Road, Oxford, was accused of burgling the North Oxford home of Brooks Newmark after his DNA was allegedly found on an empty can left at the scene.

During the brief trial at Oxford Crown Court - a retrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict at the first trial - prosecutors said that the home owner had been holidaying in Rwanda when the break-in happened sometime between July 31 and August 23, 2017.

From the witness box Mr Newmark described the apparent ransacking, which prosecutors said Mr Strong was responsible for.

READ AGAIN: Man denies 'ransacking' Oxford home of former Tory MP Brooks Newmark.

On Thursday presiding Judge Peter Ross heard an application from the defence that there was 'no case to answer' and that the evidence was insufficient for jurors to be able to convict Mr Strong.

Judge Ross agreed and yesterday he told jurors a formal verdict of not guilty had been entered and the panel was discharged.

Addressing jurors he said that his decision was made partly because of evidence from a forensic scientist which said that DNA evidence in support of the case was 'inconclusive.'

READ AGAIN: Oxford burglary trial collapses after jury fails to reach verdict.

As a result Mr Strong was cleared of any wrong-doing and the case has now been dropped altogether, with prosecutors not planning to lodge any appeal against the decision.

In February Mr Strong's first trial fell apart after jurors failed to reach a verdict in that case.

During that trial the panel deliberated for exactly six hours before it became apparent they could not reach a decision.