Police probing the unsolved murder of a millionaire businessman are set to quiz a convicted hitman in prison.

Detectives hunting the killer of computer tycoon Richard Watson are considering quizzing antiques dealer Paul Garfield Jones over his death.

Mr Watson, 55, was gunned down outside his five-bedroom farmhouse in December 1996 as he stepped out of his £30,000 TVR Chimera.

The murderer escaped through country lanes as the father-of-four lay dying outside his home in East Grinstead.

Garfield Jones, 39, who lived locally, was arrested and quizzed just hours later but subsequently released without charge.

He was later convicted of handling a stolen briefcase belonging to the three-times married victim.

It had been taken in a burglary at Mr Watson's firm, Trafalgar Computers, before his death.

Now police are to question Garfield Jones again after he was convicted of carrying out a bungled contract hit on a security firm manager over a business row.

Officers working on the Watson murder - codenamed Operation Canasta - yesterday refused to comment on the case.

The murder inquiry was complicated by Mr Watson's worldwide business dealings, with his firm having an annual turnover of £1.2 million, and speculation he may have been killed by the Russian mafia.

The case featured on BBC's Crimewatch, more than 200 statements were taken and a £50,000 reward was offered for information leading to a conviction.

Mr Watson's third wife, 43-year-old former beauty queen Linda, and her 24-year-old daughter Amanda London-Williams were charged six months later with murdering him with the aid of an unknown third person.

The pair, who vehemently insisted their innocence, had been inside the house making Christmas puddings during the shooting and raised the alarm.

They were later cleared of any involvement when the case was dropped just before they were due to go on trial at the Old Bailey.

Garfield Jones will be sentenced next month for conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and firearms offences.

A jury at Kingston Crown Court heard he was hired by the intended victim's boss in South London after he announced he was setting up his own business.

But the would-be assassin shot the man's next-door neighbour with a sawn-off shotgun by mistake.

The victim, left for dead, spent weeks in hospital. He survived the shooting last November despite having hundreds of pellets in his abdomen.

Solicitors for Mrs Watson and Miss London-Williams yesterday declined to comment.

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Wood, who is in charge of Operation Canasta, said: "The inquiry is ongoing but I am not prepared to make any public comment about it."