Honda Civic won't start, out of ideas!!!?

I have a 1998 Honda Civic Aerodeck 1.6L. Two weeks ago the car broke down coming back from a friends. We discovered the car had a massive oil leak and it wouldn't start. It was towed to a garage and the mechanic traced the oil leak to a split in the oil filter. The oil filter was changed but still the car wouldn't start. The mechanic has changed he spark plugs, the timing belt and the distributor and has even had an electrician check the electrics but still the car won't start. Apparently there is a spark and the engine turns over, so he doesn't think the engine has seized up, but beyond that nothing. He has even drained the petrol just in case diesel had been put in by mistake. He has now run out of ideas, short of replacing the computer. Any idea what the problem might be?

James
October 2009