A teenager who was free to murder a mother-of-two with a machete despite being reported as a bogus student two months earlier has been jailed for life.

Sher Singh, 19, killed Geeta Aulakh on behalf of her jealous husband even though the UK Border Agency was told he was not attending college.

No action was taken, leaving Singh, who is from India, free to butcher the popular Sunrise Radio receptionist as she went to pick up her sons from a childminder.

Her husband, Harpreet Aulakh, ordered the murder after she had asked him for divorce, the Old Bailey heard.

Aulakh, 32, of Greenford, west London, and Singh, 19, of Southall, west London, were jailed alongside look-out Jaswant Dhillon, 30, of Ilford, east London.

Sentencing the gang, Mr Justice Saunders said: "It was a pointless, cold-blooded killing of a woman about whom no-one except Aulakh had a bad word to say."

Aulakh was told he must serve at least 28 years behind bars, while Singh and Dhillon were each given 22-year minimum terms.

Jurors were unable to agree a verdict on 20-year-old Harpreet Singh, of Slough, Berkshire. He denies murder and will now face a retrial.