A Jordanian court sentenced a man to death today for killing a British accountant and injuring five other Western tourists in an attack at an amphitheatre in the capital Amman.

Nabil Ahmad Jaoura, 38, a Palestinian refugee born in Baqaa camp on the outskirts of Amman, was motivated by a hatred of Western foreign policy and the need to avenge the death of his brothers in an Israeli raid.

He opened fire on a group of tourists as they left the Roman amphitheatre in Amman on September 4, killing Christopher Stokes, 30, an accountant, from Littleborough near Rochdale.

Two of the wounded tourists were British - Karen Sparke and Kathryn Mills, both from Salisbury - one Dutch, one Australian and one from New Zealand. A Jordanian policeman was also hurt.

Mr Stokes's parents, Rod and Norma, said the verdict would help them "move on a little bit", although getting through Christmas would still be a struggle.

Mr Stokes, 59, said: "It feels like closure for us in one part. We can move on a little bit."

His wife, Norma, 60, continued: "We’re just relieved that the verdict has come quickly. It’s what we were expecting."

Mr Stokes added: "We’ve no strong revenge feelings at all. We take the view that if it was an act of terrorism as they say and if it’s the law of the land that the guy be executed, then that’s it.

"We’re not saying this is how it should be, but we don’t feel we’re in a position to judge the laws of another country."

The computer programmer said that he and his wife, a retired primary school teacher, had "never really identified with or thought about" the gunman.

He said: "We’ve regarded him the same as a runaway bus or train killing our son. We’ve got enough to bother about without thinking about him."

During his trial, Jaourah denied murder but admitted being responsible for the shooting. But in a unamimous decision, a three-man military tribunal found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to hang.

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