A British newspaper editor who killed his wife with a hammer in their Dubai home has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, prompting the victim's family to argue that "justice has not yet been done".

Francis Matthew, 61, was not on hand on Sunday when the verdict came down at Dubai Criminal Court. He will be deported after serving his sentence.

The accused’s lawyer, Ali Al Shamsi,said that the court changed the initial charge of murder against Matthew following an investigation.

Matthew had faced the death penalty but was convicted of physical assault leading to death after his lawyer argued for a change in charge.

In a previous hearing, Mr Al Shamsi told Judge Fahd Al Shamsi that Matthew had a moment of "temporary insanity".

On July 4, Dubai Police said they were called to Matthew's home in Jumeirah at 5.45pm where they found his 62-year-old wife of more than 30 years dead in bed with a severe head wound.

Police said Matthew initially claimed his wife, Jane, had been assaulted by robbers who had broken into their three-bedroom home and killed her while he was at work between 8am and 5pm.

During questioning, Matthew later admitted to police that his wife had grown angry with him after he told her they needed to move to a smaller home because they were in debt.

Matthew said his wife provoked him, calling him a "loser" and saying it was his responsibility to provide them with money.

He told police his wife pushed him so he got a hammer from the kitchen, followed his wife to the bedroom and hit her twice on the head while she was laying in bed.

A forensic expert told the court that bruises around her mouth and upper lip indicated that she was silenced forcefully while on the bed.

Records show that the next morning, Matthew tried to make the house look like it had been robbed before leaving for work, throwing the hammer, which he put in a plastic bag, in a nearby rubbish bin.

The court heard the testimonies of six people — four Emirati police officers, a Sri Lankan gardener and an Egyptian forensic expert. It also listened to good character testimonies from Matthew’s son, brother and sister.