A court in China has sentenced Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, to death, but suspended her execution.

The sentence means Gu is likely to face life in jail for murdering the British businessman Neil Heywood, provided she does not commit offences in the next two years.

Accordng to a court spokesman, Gu reacted to the sentence saying: "The verdict is just and reflects a special respect toward the law, reality and life."

At a trial on August 9, Gu Kailai admitted to poisoning Heywood in November, and alleged that a business dispute between them led him to threaten her son, Bo Guagua, according to official accounts published by state media.

The court also said Zhang Xiaojun, an aide to the Bo household, was sentenced to nine years in prison for acting as an accomplice to the poisoning of Heywood.

In a separate trial, four Chinese policemen were also convicted on Monday of having sought to protect Gu from investigation, receiving jail sentences of between five and 11 years.