Barry George denies killing Jill Dando

LONDON - Barry George denied murdering BBC TV presenter Jill Dando on Friday and was told he will face a re-trial next June, more than seven years after he was convicted of the crime.

George, an unemployed 47 year-old, was jailed for life in 2001 for killing Dando, who was shot dead outside her home in west London in April 1999.

However, that conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal last month because forensic evidence was ruled unsafe and a retrial was ordered.

At London's Old Bailey court on Friday, George, wearing a dark navy suit and an open neck light blue shirt, pleaded not guilty to one count of murder.

His application was bail was refused and he was told he would stand trial on June 2 next year.

The murder of Dando, 37, the host of "Crimewatch UK" and "Holiday" prompted one of the biggest police investigations ever mounted in the country.