T older brother of two youngsters who died in an arson attack was jailed for drug dealing, a court heard.

Anum Khan, nine, and brother Majid, 15, died following the blaze at their home in Magdalen Road, east Oxford, on August 26 last year.

Birmingham Crown Court has heard how Alan Swanton and Thomas Liedl, both 18, set fire to the terraced home by pouring petrol through the letterbox and lighting it. They and four others deny murder.

It was revealed to the jury yesterday that Amjad Khan, 24, the brother of Anum and Majid, was convicted of possessing heroin with intent to supply the drug in May last year. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison at Oxford Crown Court and is currently serving his sentence at Bullingdon Prison. Previously the jury was only told that Amjad was jailed for a "serious offence", but yesterday the exact nature of his crime was revealed.

The court heard that shortly after Amjad was sent to prison, his mother Mefooz visited him and she discovered that three of those later accused of murder, Haq Nawaz, Haroon Sharif and Riaz Munshi, were at Bullingdon on the same day with the intention of seeing her son.

Speaking from the witness box, Haq Nawaz told the jury that he had been at Haroon Sharif's home in Morrell Avenue, when Amjad's mother called. He overheard a conversation, the court heard, and was not pleased by what Mrs Khan was saying, but added that he bore no grudge against the Khan family.

Haq Nawaz later had a phone conversation with Shanaz Khan, 26, the sister of Anum and Majid, about growing tension between his family and the Khans.

"I said to Shanaz I had heard her mother saying all sorts about me and I did not like what was being said," Haq told the jury.

"Shanaz told me that I had misunderstood everything her mother was saying."

Robin Grey QC, defending, asked Haq Nawaz how the telephone conversation ended.

"As far as you were concerned was the problem over or not?"

"It was all over with," Haq replied.

The six accused are Alan Swanton, 18, of Southern Way, Letchworth, Herts; brothers Mohammed Nawaz, 21, and Haq Nawaz, 31, both of Ridge Road, Letchworth; Thomas Liedl, 18, of Birdshill, Letchworth; Haroon Sharif, 20, of Morrell Avenue, Oxford; and Riaz Munshi, 26, of Fulwell Road, Sheffield. They all deny the charges.

The case continues.

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