Perky blonde psychologist paid £500 a day to give convicted sex offender head massages, among other things.

From the Daily Mail, another example of a shrink milking the system.

Sitting beside Barry George in the dock is a blonde psychologist who has become one of his most trusted supporters.

Dr Susan Young ensures the convicted sex offender is relaxed, attentive and stress-free during proceedings.

For George, her 'specialist techniques' - which include massaging his temples - are an invaluable aide to his powers of concentration in the courtroom.

But her services do not come cheaply to the taxpayer. Already, she has run up a bill of around £30,000 helping George 'cope' with various court proceedings over the past six years.

She was at his side during his ten-week trial in 2001 when she sat in the well of the court monitoring whether George suffered any 'petit mal' minor epileptic fits which meant he could not follow the case.

In his cell below Court Number One at the Old Bailey, Dr Young also conducted regular 'relaxation exercises' - such as massaging his head. The £500-a-day psychologist was also in close attention during his failed appeal attempt in 2002.

Yesterday, the pair were reunited when Dr Young, 50, was again allowed to sit next to George.

He passed several notes to his psychologist and they had numerous whispered exchanges behind the wrought-iron bars.

George's QC William Clegg explained Dr Young's presence to the court by saying his client had learning difficulties and 'intellectual functioning in the borderline range'.

'He has epilepsy and severe cognitive impairment. He has a tendency to fantasise and is on record as claiming to be related to Freddie Mercury and having served in the SAS. Neither was right. At his trial Dr Young sat with him and, with the court's leave, does again today.'

Jail sources say George is 'clearly delighted' to have Dr Young in such close proximity.

"He certainly perks up when she is around," said one.

Their friendship goes back to 2001 when Dr Young told the Old Bailey that giving evidence would be a devastating experience for George and that he should not be discriminated against for staying silent.

She said she worried whenever she saw him drifting off and her expert opinion was accepted by the court and supported by two eminent psychiatrists.

Her notes for one 'fit' as George sat in the dock read: 'He looks spaced out, unfocused. He looks out of it.'

But psychologist Dr Caroline Logan, called by the prosecution, said she believed George feigned illness in the hope of influencing the case.

Prosecutor Orlando Pownall told the Old Bailey that on one occasion George brought up a blue liquid claiming it was bile, only for it to turn out to be washing-up liquid.

Last week Dr Young appeared in a controversial BBC Panorama programme on the case, in which she claimed George was not capable of carrying out Miss Dando's murder.

"He wouldn't have had the wherewithal that he needed to have to plan and execute this crime," she added.