Guilty of killing their six children

A third defendant, 46-year-old Paul Mosley, was also found guilty of manslaughter by the jury following an eight-week trial.

All three will be sentenced tomorrow.

As the jury delivered its verdicts in respect of Philpott, he stood in the dock staring straight ahead with his hands clasped in front of him.

As the court heard guilty verdicts in respect of his wife, he shook his head and she looked down at the floor and fought back tears while clutching a tissue in both her hands.

Mosley showed no emotion as he heard the guilty verdicts.

Before leaving the dock, as the judge rose for a short break after emotional outbursts in the packed public gallery, Philpott, wearing a grey suit, white shirt and pink tie, crossed himself and was heard to say: "It's not over yet."

People in the public gallery erupted in tears and shouts as the verdicts came in.

Members of the public hugged one another as they sobbed.

During the trial, the court heard that the six youngsters - Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13 - all died as a result of the petrol-fuelled blaze that tore through their three-bed council house.

The children were asleep in their beds upstairs when the fire, which was set inside the semi-detached house by the front door, took hold in the early hours.

The blaze was part of a "plan" Philpott had to frame his former mistress Lisa Willis, 29, who had left the family home three months earlier.

She and her five children, four of whom were fathered by Philpott, had lived with the Philpotts and their six children for 10 years before they left in February last year.

The fire happened at around 3.45am on May 11, just hours before Philpott, who was father to a total of 17 children by five different women, and Miss Willis were due to appear at a pre-scheduled court hearing to discuss residency of their children.

The court date was postponed following the fire.

Jurors heard the blaze was part of a botched plan to blame Miss Willis, who was arrested immediately after the fire but quickly released with no further action, in an effort to get her and the children to return to Victory Road.

Prosecutors said part of the motive could also have been the desire Philpott had for a bigger council house, or simply because Philpott wanted his children and girlfriend back in the family home.

During the trial the jury heard the plan the defendants devised was to get all six children into one bedroom at the back of the house - they usually slept scattered across the three bedrooms while the adults slept in the conservatory or in a caravan on the driveway of the property - so that when the fire started, they could be rescued through a window.

Prosecutor Richard Latham QC said the plan had "gone completely wrong" within two minutes because the fire was far bigger than the defendants expected.

Philpott and his wife rang 999 to ask for emergency services assistance on the night of the blaze. The majority of the emotive call was played to the court and left Philpott doubled over and sobbing in the witness box as he listened.

The court was told that he was supposed to "act the hero and victim" and use a ladder propped up against the back of the house, smash the window, and get the children out.

The plan went wrong when he climbed the ladder but found the window shut and he was unable to smash a large enough hole to get in, or to rescue the youngsters because of the intense heat and thick black smoke generated by the fire.

The children were also not in one room together. Firefighters found their lifeless bodies in each of the three upstairs bedrooms.

Samantha Shallow, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Today's verdict shows that the children died as a result of the actions of Michael and Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley when they set the fire.

"It was started as a result of a plan between the three of them to turn family court proceedings in Mr Philpott's favour. It was a plan that went disastrously and tragically wrong.

"This has been a challenging and harrowing case to prosecute. I am grateful that so many people from the local community came to court and gave evidence. This cannot have been easy and I would like to thank them for coming forward and enabling us to get to the truth.

"Amid all the details of the defendants' personal lives that have come out in court, it should not be forgotten that at the heart of this case were the deaths of six innocent children."

"I extend the condolences of the whole prosecution team to the family and friends of the six children for their tragic loss."

A spectator in the public gallery shouted: "You murdering b******.

"You heard me. I told you didn't I."

"No f***** listened to me from day one."

She was escorted from the courtroom.

The judge, Mrs Justice Kate Thirwall, told the court she will sentence all three defendants at 10.30am tomorrow.

The barristers agreed this was best given the "emotions running high".

The judge thanked the jury following the eight week trial and seven hours 45 minutes of deliberations.

Opening the case to the jury on February 12 Mr Latham said Philpott was the "prime mover and dominant player" in the scheme to set fire to the house.

Unemployed Philpott had begun laying the trail for Miss Willis to take the fall for the fire by making false reports to police claiming that she was harassing him and threatening the family.

Miss Willis denied ever making any such threats.

Philpott became renowned after television appearances on The Jeremy Kyle Show and in a documentary with Ann Widdecombe.

Philpott's barrister, Anthony Orchard QC, said the fallout from the television appearances had a detrimental effect on the family.

Giving evidence to the court, Miss Willis agreed when he asked her: "Mr Philpott was being lambasted as a benefits scrounger. You were seen as a shameless family. It was a horrible time, wasn't it?"

Mothers at the school gates where his children attended described how after she had left the family home he had openly spoken of having a "plan up his sleeve" to get her and his children back and to "watch this space."

Mr Latham said: "It became apparent to him that Lisa was going to do what she wanted and not what he required or demanded. He began to set her up."

The trial heard details of the unconventional lifestyle the Philpotts and Miss Willis led while they all lived together at Victory Road with the 11 children.

Miss Willis told the court the two women would take turns in sleeping with Philpott. She would bed down with him in the caravan while his wife would sleep with him in the conservatory.

Jurors heard that Mrs Philpott agreed to the set-up because she was terrified of losing her husband, who she described as her "guardian angel", and that once Miss Willis had moved in they were "like sisters".

Such was their bond that Miss Willis was later a bridesmaid at Mick and Mairead's wedding.

The court also heard that Philpott came to prefer Miss Willis and often said in front of his wife he wanted to divorce her and marry his mistress.

Mrs Philpott was said to have been treated like a slave by her husband and made to carry out the majority of the household domestic duties.

She was also persuaded to participate in various sexual activities. She had been dogging with her husband, took part in threesomes with him and hours before the fire the court heard she had sex with Mosley over the family's snooker table while Philpott watched.

However, she told jurors in her evidence she had been happy with her life because she loved her husband.

Jurors also heard from some of Philpott's previous partners, who all described to the court a man who was both physically and verbally abusive, controlling and manipulative.

He also admitted to not having bathed for 12 weeks before the fire, and told the court his children called him a tramp.

In the aftermath of the blaze, detectives took the unusual step of bugging the Premier Inn hotel room where the Philpotts were housed, and also the police van that carried them to their first court hearing after they were charged over the children's deaths.

The recordings picked up Philpott asking his wife: "Are you sticking to the story?"

They claimed it was because they did not want people to know about their sex life.

Jurors also heard that traces of petrol were found on all three of the defendants, and Shell petrol found on Philpott's clothes matched debris found at the seat of the fire

After the case Derbyshire Chief Constable Steve Cotterill said: "This has to be one of, if not the most upsetting cases any of us has ever investigated.

"This is a shocking case for everyone involved. Six young children lost their lives needlessly in a fire and all our efforts have been focused on getting justice for those children.

"My thoughts at this time are very much for the friends and relations of the children who have been affected by the events on Victory Road on May 11 last year.

"It was a long and difficult inquiry which involved more than 100 officers and police staff at its peak. Everyone was determined to find out the truth behind this fire and who was responsible for setting it in the house."

He added: "I want to thank all the people from the local community who had the courage to come forward and give evidence against the defendants in this trial. Without them we would never have been able to discover the truth.

"I also want to pay tribute to the bravery shown by the firefighters, the police officers and more importantly the neighbours who tried to rescue the children."

Jeremy Kyle: Shameless Mick was 'very, very defensive' when it came to his family

Mick and Mairead Philpott have become notorious over the years for their "unconventional" family, but many thought it was a loving household where such a heinous act was not even imaginable.

Appearances on the Jeremy Kyle Show, a frequent and forthright presence on social networking sites and comments to newspapers about living with wife Mairead as well as girlfriend Lisa Willis led to conjecture and speculation about how Mick Philpott managed to live in such a way.

Although many people could not understand why the women in his life accepted their lot or even desired it, general opinion was that Mrs Philpott and Miss Willis got on well with one another.

It is believed that just weeks before the fatal blaze, the relationship between Miss Willis and Mick Philpott was over and they had become locked in a custody battle over the five children they had together.

Philpott said he could understand why people were shocked at the way his family lived, especially when he revealed intimate details of the dynamics involved, such as how he would spend a few nights in his caravan and one night would be spent with Mrs Philpott and the next with Miss Willis, but said he could not understand why people felt disgust.

Appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show, Philpott claimed he was prepared to divorce his wife, marry Miss Willis, and then divorce her simply so that she would not feel left out because she did not share the Philpott family name.

This untraditional lifestyle also led to Philpott being dubbed "Shameless Mick" in 2007 for his benefit claims and refusal to get a job in a documentary by former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe.

He originally hit the headlines the year before, in 2006, when he demanded Derby City Council rehouse him and his large family because the four-bed house they had been allocated was too small.

At the time, Miss Willis was expecting his 15th child and Philpott claimed that when two of his other children visited, he and his wife had to sleep in a tent in the back garden.

During his television appearance, Philpott also told show host Kyle that he was "very, very defensive" when it came to his family.

Reacting to perceived criticisms people made of his life, he said: "Do they know me as a family, do they know my kids? I don't think so.

"Anybody who wants to see me, my other partner and my kids - they can come and stop with me for a week and I guarantee after a week they'll be amazed, especially at the way my children behave.

"My children are brought up properly."

During a press conference he and Mairead gave five days after the children's deaths, the distraught couple repeatedly wiped away tears and thanked the public and emergency services personnel who had tried to help the children.

Philpott told reporters: "We can't express our gratitude enough.

"It's not just us that have suffered, it's them as well - it's everybody."

He also revealed Duwayne's organs had been donated to save the life of another child.

In the aftermath of the six children's deaths, feeling on the Allenton estate where the family lived was one of unity and support for the Philpotts.

Many people who knew and socialised with Mick Philpott and his family - said to have included 17 of his biological children before the tragic fire - defended his lifestyle, saying negative representations of the area and the man did not live up to the reality.

One local, Bobby Sutherland, was inspired to set up a charity to help pay for the funerals of the six children, whom he said Mick Philpott loved desperately.

Fighting back tears as he stood in the street outside the fire-ravaged family home, he said at the time: "Yeah, they can slag him off, but he loved his kids.

"Who doesn't make a mistake?

"Yeah, you make mistakes but you don't deserve that.

"Nobody deserves that.

"You know what I mean?"

When the couple were first charged with the six murders, local feeling mainly turned to anger and upset - a disgruntled group even felt motivated to stand outside court ahead of the couple's first appearance and hurl abuse as prison vans drove them in.

The extended Philpott family have been keen to try to ensure that in the ensuing media hype around Mick and Mairead Philpott since the tragic fire, the real victims have not been lost from pubic view - the six young children who died.

Speaking a couple of months after the deaths of his siblings, brother Richard Philpott said the outpouring of support from the local community had helped with his grief and to give the youngsters the send-off they deserved when their funerals - complete with horse-drawn carriages and personalised coffins - took place at St Mary's Catholic Church in Derby.

He has since had the faces of his six brothers and sisters tattooed on his arm with a message that reads: "My brothers, my sisters and my best friends. Love you always, forget you never."