The trial of the wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood has begun.

An official at a courthouse in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei said the trial of Gu Kailai and a household aide had started.

The two are accused of poisoning Neil Heywood in November in the south-western city of Chongqing, where Bo was party chief until his removal this spring.

Kailai lived in Bournemouth for three years with Mr Heywood between 2000 and 2003.

Gu and a household aide, Zhang Xiaojun, face charges of murdering Mr Heywood, who had close ties to the Bo family. They were represented by government-appointed lawyers from Anhui province, of which Hefei is the capital city.

The pair look likely to be found guilty of intentional homicide, which carries punishment ranging from more than 10 years in jail to a life sentence or the death penalty.

In announcing the indictment about two weeks ago, the official Xinhua News Agency made clear the government considers the verdict a foregone conclusion.

''The facts of the two defendants' crime are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial,'' it said.

The morning of the trial began with a steady downpour. Security was tight around the courthouse, with roads around it blocked to car travel. Reporters were asked to present their IDs before being allowed to get close to the building, but police lines were pulled across the main entrance and guarded by police.

Other entrances were similarly guarded. Dozens of plainclothes security officers loitered around the streets, and several special police vans were parked around the building.

According to Xinhua, Gu had a falling out with Mr Heywood over money and worried that her son's safety was threatened.

Before his removal in the spring, Bo, the son of a revolutionary veteran, was one of China's most powerful and charismatic politicians. But his overt manoeuvring for a top political job, as well as high-profile campaigns to bust organised crime and promote communist culture - while trampling over civil liberties and reviving memories of the chaotic Cultural Revolution in the process - angered some leaders.