MILLIONAIRE Peter Morgan's bid to be cleared of murder relied on expert evidence from the cousin of comedy actor Sacha Baron Cohen.

Morgan admitted strangling Georgina Symonds - but denied murder through diminished responsibility due to having Asperger syndrome.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, the cousin of Borat and Ali G star Sacha, appeared in court to give his expertise on the disorder.

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He told the murder trial jury: "I am in no doubt he has Asperger syndrome.

"His accounts of his social relationships are not that of a typical person. He said he doesn't like to bother with people much.

"He has very narrow personal interests, like fixing machinery. And he has a very black-and-white mindset."

Professor Baron-Cohen was the second of three experts to give his opinion and said Morgan felt like he had no choice but to attack Georgina, because he was afraid of being blackmailed by her.

Doctor Ajat Sanikop gave evidence first, and said that Morgan's mental state was 'entirely normal'.

After Professor Baron-Cohen, Dr Phillip Joseph gave evidence and came to the same conclusion as Dr Sanikop, however he made a u-turn after reading Professor Baron-Cohen's report, deciding that he was the leading expert.

"He felt he had to stop her and frighten her. He felt quite trapped, and wanted to protect his children at all costs," Professor Baron-Cohen added.

"Dr Sanikop made a number of comments about signs of Asperger's which were actually common myths.

"Maybe he doesn't have a lot of clinical experience of diagnosing people with Asperger's."

Asperger syndrome is on the autistic spectrum, and is a lifelong development disability that affects how people perceive the world and how they interact with others.

People who suffer from the disorder can also have difficulty with social interaction and unusual patterns of thought and physical behaviour.