Sion Jenkins left court a free man today after a nine year legal saga in which he endured three murder trials, two appeals and - minutes earlier - a violent physical assault in the courthouse.

Stepping outside the Old Bailey after being acquitted of bludgeoning his foster-daughter Billie-Jo to death on a sunny afternoon in February 1997, Mr Jenkins, 48, told reporters that detectives had been "wilfully blind and incompetent".

He said that he had been the victim of a dreadful miscarriage of justice. He said that detectives had been single-minded in their determination to convict him. And he demanded that the investigation into his foster-daughter's death was re-opened immediately.

Mr Jenkins spoke with characteristic calm despite the dramatic events earlier in the afternoon.

At shortly after mid-day, the six men and six women of the jury returned to the court and told Judge Mr Justice David Clarke that, after 39 hours of deliberations stretching back more than a week, they had been unable to reach a verdict on the case.

Mr Clarke dismissed the panel, thanking them for their diligence. The court erupted in near pandemonium as members of Billie-Jo's natural family began yelling: "It's not over!"

When the judge called for a short break, the chaos spilled out of the courtroom. A number of angry relatives managed to evade security to enter the second-floor waiting room where Mr Jenkins was seated.

At least two women launched a flurry of kicks and punches. They pulled his hair, drawing blood as they clawed at his face until security guards intervened. One of the women later told reporters "Revenge was lovely" before being led away by police.

The court was hastily reconvened and Christopher Sallon QC, who has defended Mr Jenkins, called for an inquiry into how his client had been attacked.

He said: "Two women ran the full length of the corridor from the stairs and attacked Mr Jenkins. One of them injured him and drew blood. How that was allowed to happen remains unknown. It could have been very much more dangerous."

Mr Clarke noted the complaint, before turning to the prosecuting team. Nicholas Hilliard, prosecuting, said that no further retrial would be sought. He said: "In the course of two lengthy trials, neither jury has been able to reach a verdict and we can’t say they would be more likely than not to do so in a future trial. Having given very careful consideration to the case, now is the time to offer no further evidence."

Mr Jenkins gave no visible reaction in the dock. He appeared before journalists some 30 minutes later to give a brief, but emotional statement to the scrum of film crews and journalists.

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