A sports agent with links to footballer Ashley Cole was cleared at the Old Bailey today of murdering teenager Danny O’Shea in a “revenge” attack.

Christopher Nathaniel, 40, who told the court he once helped former prime minister Tony Blair launch an anti-knife crime campaign, was found not guilty along with seven other men of the fatal stabbing of Danny O’Shea,18.

The teenager died just yards from his mother’s home in Canning Town, after being stabbed in the throat on December 2, 2011.

The jury unanimously cleared eight men of murder and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm after 22 hours of deliberations.

Another defendant, O’Neil Wareham, was also cleared of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Nugent Rowe, 29, from Pinner, Middlesex, was convicted of the murder.

A female juror buried her face in a scarf as the verdicts were read out, while a member of Mr O’Shea’s family ran out of the court in tears.

Jurors were told the attack took place a week after Nathaniel’s business partner Paul Boadi, 34, had been attacked by as many as seven men when his phone was stolen.

It was alleged that he spoke to Nathaniel and arranged to return to the area with another eight men to hunt for those responsible when Mr O’Shea was killed.

Nathaniel and Boadi, both of Docklands; David Hylton, 47, from Holborn; Andrew Johnson, 35, and Paul Johnson, 33, all from Harrow; Ferron Perue, 24, from Birmingham; Kevin Richards, 32, from Harlesden; and Scott Marius, 44, from Clinton Villas, west London, were cleared of murder and conspiracy to commit grievious bodily harm.

Rowe will be sentenced tomorrow.