The mother of Anthony Walker drew deeply on her Christian faith yesterday to find forgiveness for the racist killers of her son, who face up to 30 years in jail.

Gee Walker, 49, had listened to every harrowing detail of the ambush by white racist thugs that left her son, a gifted black A-level student, with an ice axe embedded in his skull.

She was composed and dignified in her seat at Liverpool Crown Court, at the end of an emotionally charged two-week trial, to hear the jury find Michael Barton, 17, the brother of Joey Barton, the Premiership footballer, guilty of murder.

As the jury delivered its unanimous verdict after a day and a half’s deliberation, Barton slumped in the dock, burying his head in his hands and gulping for air. Later he wept silently.

Within minutes Mrs Walker, a mother of six, emerged from the court arm in arm with two of her four daughters to offer words of compassion to Taylor and Barton: “Do I forgive them? At the point of death Jesus said, ‘I forgive them because they do not know what they do’. I have got to forgive them. I still forgive them."

Taken from Times Online website

By Andy