Paddy Power defends offering odds on outcome of Pistorius trial

Paddy Power has defended its decision to take bets on the outcome of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial and run high-profile adverts promising to refund losing bets if the South African is found not guilty.

The bookmaker has faced a social media backlash for the perceived insensitivity of taking bets on whether or not a man murdered his girlfriend.

One petition asking the company to stop offering the odds had received almost 25,000 supporters at time of going to press.