TWO 20-year-old men were sentenced to life today for the drink and drug-fuelled murder of a doctor near Buckingham Palace.

Thomas Connor, of Curtismill Way, St Paul’s Cray, and William Paton, of Clarendon Way, St Paul’s Cray, were found guilty last week of the murder and robbery of Dr Nadim Gulamhuseinwala.

Connor must serve a minimum of 25 years in jail, whilst Paton will spend at least 23 years behind bars.

The robbery took place in London’s Green Park on July 25 last year.

Dr Gulamhuseinwala (pictured below), a qualified surgeon and management consultant, was on his way home following a night out with friends when he was attacked in the park in the early hours.

During the attack the 32-year-old doctor was hit over the head with a 5kg iron pole and his mobile phone, wallet and cash were stolen.

He was knocked unconscious and died from head injuries in hospital on August 5.

News Shopper: Dr Nadim Gulamhuseinwala

Both defendants admitted spending Dr Gulamhuseinwala's money on a prostitute after the assault.

The Old Bailey heard how the pair were under “the evil influence of cocaine that evening”.

Having already been ripped off by someone posing as a prostitute the pair had then “roamed” central London for someone to rob, the court heard.

In an impact statement read out in court, the doctor's brother Imran said the attack was “barbaric and senseless”.

He said: “They brutally robbed him of his life and his future and they robbed us, his family and friends.”

The statement said: “At 32 years old, he was on the verge of an exciting future, full of promise and happiness.”

It said that Dr Gulamhuseinwala's girlfriend Rebbeca “feels like her whole world has fallen apart” and “their future together has been stolen away”.

Paton's barrister Michael Wolkind said he planned to appeal the jury's “shocking verdict”.

During the trial Paton had claimed he did not see the attack because he was behind a tree and said he only rifled through the unconscious man's pockets afterwards because Connor told him to.

In mitigation, Connor's barrister Michael Magarian told the court his client had suffered traumas as a child.

He said Connor's mother was beaten up by his father and, after he left, not to be seen for a decade, her second husband also beat her.

Mr Magarian said his client - a former child photographic model who appeared on packets of Angel Delight pudding mix - had been rejected by the army but just the day before the attack had been taken on at a garden centre, leaving him in a “celebratory mood”.

Sentencing them, Judge Stephen Kramer said: “Fuelled by alcohol and cocaine, you used gratuitous violence on a man who you must have known was vulnerable.”

Both men must also serve 10 years for robbery, to run concurrently.