Enron ex-chief Kenneth Lay last night escaped justice with a rarely-used legal loophole, one that experts say will effectively grant him freedom from serving any jail time.

His lawyers, defending their client's heart attack, say the move has little to do with being found guilty in May on all six charges of fraud and conspiracy.

According to a spokesperson from the firm McGreedy, Snatch and Nab, "While our client did turn out to be guilty, per se, of fraud and conspiracy, this does not prove ipso facto that he is, in actuality, a sneaky man. In this case, this heart attack is an honest heart attack."

Earlier this year Mr Lay, as he was affectionately known by his close personal acquaintances, rather ironically described Enron's collapse as "the most devastating and heartbreaking tragedy of my life".

The former chief executive and chairman of Enron defended himself throughout his trial as a "victim of his workers dishonesty".

Lay's critics, however, have dismissed his death as another ploy to evade justice.

"The man is outrageous," says welfare recipient and former Enron employee Bill Frasier. "The lengths to which he is prepared to go... still, it's not going to work."

If Kenneth Lay hadn't died, he would have looked forward to several decades in prison. Released on bail, he was due to start serving time in October.

A high-profile businessman, Lay was less well known as a determined political activist. Generous to a fault when it came to political charities, Lay poured millions into the election campaigns of his friend, president George W. Bush, who nicknamed him "Kenny Boy".