Tariq Jahan will be sentenced on Thursday

A bereaved father, who publicly appealed for calm after his son was killed in last summer's riots, has avoided jail after being convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man he accused of staring at his wife.

Tariq Jahan, 46, was given a 12-month suspended sentence following a three-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Jurors heard he grabbed 34-year-old Sajjid Ali by the throat before punching him to the ground after the pair got into an argument in Handsworth, Birmingham, on 6 July last year.

The attack happened a month before Jahan won national acclaim for an impassioned appeal for peace after his 21-year-old son Haroon was killed during disorder in the Winson Green area of Birmingham.

The jury of seven men and five women took just under four hours to return a majority verdict. Jahan, who showed no visible reaction, was cleared of the more serious charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.