The defence has charged that a US jury will be biased against a British man accused of killing his American wife and baby girl after it was revealed that potential jurors joked "Fry him" and "Send him away."

A woman told the judge at the trial in the Boston suburbs that other potential jurors had discussed the case while waiting to check in for jury duty.

"They were making comments about what they thought should happen to him — things like 'Fry him', 'Send him away' and the like." Speaking outside the court the woman, who refused to give her name, said: "I think it was fairly light-hearted, as much as it can be with that kind of comment . . . [It was] extremely uncomfortable."

The disclosure caused uproar at the double-murder trial of Neil Entwistle, the unemployed IT worker from Worksop who is accused of killed his wife Rachel and 9-month-old daughter Lillian at their home.

The defence, which has been trying to move the trial to the millionaire's playground of Martha's Vineyard because of the heavy pre-trial publicity in the Boston area, immediately asked for jury selection to be suspended.

"We have an impermissably infected pool of potential jurors . . . with comments like 'Fry him', 'Send him away', that 'this is the guy who murdered his family,'" said Eliot Weinstein, Mr Entwistle's counsel. "These are comments that are being made. These are attitudes that people hold."

Judge Diane Kottmyer refused to halt and pressed on with jury selection for a third day.

The judge has been struggling to seat an unbiased juror, but many potential jurors say they have already concluded that Mr Entwistle killed his family.

One man who was dismissed as a juror for bias stood up in court in from of Mr Entwistle and said: "God forgive me if I'm wrong. God help him if I'm right."

Mr Entwistle's parents and brother have arrived in court to support him during what is expected to be a three-week trial.

Yvonne Entwistle, a school dinner lady, blew a kiss to her son Neil as he was escorted into the courtroom. Neil Entwistle, 29, responded with a smile.

His father, Clifford, a former coal-miner who serves as a Bassetlaw District councillor, and brother Russell were also in the front row of the public gallery to watch the case.

In the family's first comment on the case for two years, Clifford Entwistle told reporters: ""We know that our son Neil is innocent — 100 per cent innocent."

They refused to make any further comment and have hired a Boston area lawyer, Peter Parker, to represent them in dealings with the media.

Neil Entwistle has pleaded not guilty to the January 20, 2006 killings at his family's rented house in the Boston suburbs. He faces life without parole, if convicted. Massachusetts does not have the death penalty.

"It's great Neil's parents have come here to support him. It's wonderful they will be here throughout the trial," Mr Weinstein, his lawer, said.

"It's a loss they have suffered. They have lost Lillian. Thet have lost Rachel. They stand in full support of Neil and they know Neil is not responsible for what has happened to their daughter in law and their granddaughter."

Judge Diane Kottmyer is telling potential jurors that they can expect to serve at least three weeks on the case, and that the trial should be over by the July 4 holiday.

Mr Weinstein appears to be laying the groundwork for an appeal by repeatedly objecting about juror bias. He unsuccessfully asked the judge to inquire about potential jurors' attitude to Internet sex and gambling sites, because Mr Entwistle's web-surfing habits are to figure heavily in the trial.

"There is not a possibility - no possibility at at all - that Neil Entwistle can get a fair trial," Mr Weinstein said.

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