THE boy whose life was saved by the murdered headmaster Philip Lawrence was jailed by the Old Bailey yesterday for carrying a loaded gun at the Notting Hill Carnival.

As William Njoh, 21, was taken to begin his 4½-year sentence, Mr Lawrence’s widow, Frances, blew a kiss to him across the court. She said later that it was wrong to suggest that her husband had wasted his life on Njoh.

Mrs Lawrence attended all three days of the trial. She said: “I should like to visit him in prison but that is up to William. I hope he is exposed to the very best of what the community can offer, but that may not happen in prison. Although he is 21, he is still a child. I’m just desperately sad. I think the whole case reflects not just the desperately sad life of William but very much the sad state of our society.”

Njoh was found with a loaded .22 Browning pistol at last year’s carnival. It could not be fired because a spring was broken. He was found guilty last month of two firearm charges and one of possessing ammunition. He admitted being equipped for theft by having a pair of white gloves that he said he was going to use for pickpocketing or burglary.

Mrs Lawrence had travelled to the Old Bailey for four weeks in 1996 for the trial of her husband’s killer. Learco Chindamo had murdered Mr Lawrence outside St George’s RC School, Maida Vale. He was ordered to be detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Mr Lawrence had intervened in a gang fight in which Njoh, then 13, was left bleeding from a stab wound to the heart. He was also kicked and punched by the masked gang.

The killing was said to have left Njoh obsessed with the fact that his headmaster had sacrificed his life to save him. The judge, Recorder Peter Rook, QC, rejected Njoh’s defence that he had been terrorised into carrying the gun and was acting under duress. He said: “I accept you have had a traumatic adolescence and had to face the tragic death of Philip Lawrence. It resulted in you giving evidence and having to be relocated. I also accept that it may have made you fearful but I am having to deal with you for something that took place some years after that event. I feel there is a significant risk of you committing further offences.”

The court was told that Njoh had become a social outcast and been persecuted by his community because he had helped to convict Chindamo. Paul Keleher, for the defence, said that Njoh’s life had been blighted after he had turned his back on street culture. “What he did seven years ago still has appalling consequences for him,” he said. “He is still receiving death threats.”

Njoh said that the repercussions of the Lawrence trial had been devastating for him. His family had to be moved under a witness protection scheme.

Njoh was sentenced in 1998 to two years’ detention in a young offender institution for robbery. In 2000 he was given a 12-month community service order for burglary and possessing cannabis.

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