The mother of the British businessman murdered by the wife of Chinese politician Bo Xilai has broken her silence, urging Beijing to show compassion and end the family's nightmare.

Neil Heywood's mother Ann said the 41-year-old's sudden death had left

his children without financial provision. She said she had previously declined to comment because she had not wished to embarrass Chinese authorities, but was disappointed the family had received no substantive response to "repeated discreet approaches" requesting help.

Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted last year of murdering her former

friend and associate. His family had initially been told he died of

natural causes.

Bo is expected to go on trial in Jinan, Shandong province, this month, facing charges of embezzlement, bribery and abuse of power. It is not clear whether the latter charge relates to the concealment of his wife's crime, although state media earlier described him as having "major responsibility".

Ann Heywood's statement to the Wall Street Journal said that it "gradually became clear" her son had been murdered and that prominent officials had been involved in a systematic cover-up.

"While struggling to come to terms with my own grief, my overriding concern has been for the security and well-being of Neil's two children. Now aged just 8 and 12, they are particularly vulnerable to the hurt and horror of their father's murder and, since Neil was the family's sole breadwinner, to uncertainty and insecurity, there being no financial provision for their future," she said.

"Given the circumstances of Neil's murder, I have been surprised and disappointed that, despite repeated discreet approaches to the Chinese authorities, there has been no substantive or practical response. I hope and trust that the leaders of this great nation, which Neil loved and respected, will now show decisiveness and compassion, so as to mitigate the consequences of a terrible crime and to enable my family finally to achieve some kind of closure to our ongoing nightmare."

Compensation for the families of murder victims is a common practice in China. In Heywood's case the payment would be expected to come from the Bo or Gu families. Bo's extended family has amassed at least $136m in assets, a report by Bloomberg revealed last year.

Heywood was found dead in a hotel room in Chongqing in November 2011. His death was blamed on excess alcohol consumption, although he was a light drinker, and his body was cremated without an autopsy, raising the concern of consular officials and expatriates who knew the businessman.

But Heywood's family said they believed he had died of natural causes, and Britain requested that China reopen the case only after Bo's former police chief fled to a US consulate in February 2012 and told diplomats Gu was responsible.

Gu was given a death sentence with two-year reprieve for his murder; it will almost certainly be commuted to a long prison sentence. A family servant was jailed for aiding her.

Heywood's widow, Wang Lulu, could not be reached for comment on Monday. It is understood that she and their children continue to live in

China.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Beijing said: "We have made the Chinese authorities aware of the family's concerns on the issue of compensation on several occasions since the trial, most recently twice

during July 2013.

"We are providing ongoing consular support to the Heywood family."

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

Heywood, who grew up in London, was educated at Harrow and Warwick University before moving to China in the 1990s. He met the Bo family

around that time and became part of Gu's inner circle, but their relationship cooled long before his death. His friends say she had become increasingly suspicious of those around her.

Friends say he felt hard done by and he had asked the Bo family for compensation.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that he was one of three people close to the family who managed a luxurious villa in Cannes. Prosecutors said Gu murdered Heywood because she thought he had threatened her son, Bo Guagua, due to a row over property dealings in Chongqing and France.

Friends of Heywood have dismissed the suggestion and Bo Guagua has

declined to comment.