Musician Graham Coutts has won his House of Lords appeal against his conviction for the murder of school teacher Jane Longhurst.

Five Law Lords agreed with submissions made on his behalf at a hearing last month that jurors should have been offered the possibility of bringing in a manslaughter verdict.

Announcing their decision, they remitted the matter back to the Court of Appeal, which last year dismissed Coutts's appeal against conviction, to "invite that court to quash the conviction".

Lord Bingham said: "It may also deal with any application for a retrial which may be made, the appellant (Coutts) remaining in custody meanwhile." Coutts, 36, of Waterloo Street, Hove, was convicted of strangling 31-year-old Miss Longhurst with a pair of tights in March 2003.

His trial at Lewes Crown Court heard he kept her body in a storage unit for weeks before it was found badly burned on Wiggonholt Common, near Pulborough.

The court heard he admitted he had been there when she died, but denied murder, saying her death was an accident during consensual sex.

Edward Fitzgerald QC, for Coutts, argued there was sufficient evidence of a lack of intent for alternatives to murder to have been offered to jurors at his trial, leading to yesterday's decision.

Miss Longhurst's mother, Liz, who has campaigned against violent pornography on the internet, was unavailable for comment.

David Lepper, Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "I'm very concerned about the effects of this on the Longhurst family, especially since the High Court had not accepted Graham Coutts' argument."

But the MP said he was optimistic the Government would announce plans to crack down on violent porn in the summer.