A Sikh father who tried to hire a hitman to kill his own daughter because of her relationship with a Jewish man has been jailed for 14 years.

The Central Criminal Court was told how Kalvinder Dosanjh, a 50-year-old builder, became enraged when his daughter, Sanjit Dosanjh, became involved with a man 19 years her senior.

Dosanjh hatched a plot to carry out what is known as an honour killing' and enlisted the help of Jagit Singh Rai, a 54-year-old businessman from Ilford.

It was Rai who unwittingly introduced Dosanjh to a hitman' who was in fact an undercover police officer.

Police said it appeared the motive was that she had brought shame upon her Sikh family by taking a partner outside her cultural and religious background.

Dosanjh said he also wanted Sanjit's boyfriend, Temple Jazac, killed and the boyfriend's father. He passed on personal details of the intended victims to the undercover officer and made it clear that Rai was in charge of payment for the murders on his behalf.

The court was told Rai and Dosanjh and the undercover officer had several meetings during which a plot to murder was hatched.

They said it would be best to kill the boyfriend's father first and then murder the son and girlfriend when they attended his funeral.

This was because they did not know where Sanjit and Temple were living and wanted the father murdered to draw them out.

Dosanjh drove the undercover officer to south London where he pointed out an address he said the father lived at.

He pointed out a man from that address and said he was the father and wanted him murdered. It was clear he had conducted his own research and had satisfied himself this was the correct address.

In fact this was a case of mistaken identity and the man he pointed out was not the father of the boyfriend.

In September Rai and Dosanjh met the undercover officer in an Ilford pub and agreed to pay £10,000 per person killed.

Dosanjh, 51, was found guilty of solicitation to murder three people. He was also found guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon (a sawn-off shotgun) but not guilty of having a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.

He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.

Rai, 54, of Goodmayes Ave, Ilford, had previously pleaded guilty to solicitation to murder the same three people and possession of a sawn-off shotgun. He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment.

Judge John Rodgers said: "It appeared the motive was that she had brought shame upon her Sikh family by taking a partner outside her cultural and religious background.

"Dosanjh said he also wanted Sanjit's boyfriend killed and the boyfriend's father. He passed on personal details of the intended victims to the undercover officer and made it clear that Rai was in charge of payment for the murders on his behalf."

Detective Chief Inspector Ron Scott, the investigating officer, said: "It is shocking to think three people - one in no way connected to Dosanjh - would have been killed for the reason of 'honour'.

"No killing is honourable - it is simply murder and the Metropolitan Police will continue to pursue and prosecute those involved in soliciting this type of crime."