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Ahmed Alid, 45, is charged with murdering Terence Carney, 70, in Hartlepool town centre, minutes after repeatedly knifing his sleeping housemate Javed Nouri, 31, in his bed.

The prosecution at Teesside Crown Court has said Alid, from Morocco and who moved with family to Algeria, was motivated out of “revenge” for the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Both men were stabbed six times in the early hours of October 15, eight days after the Hamas attacks on Israel, and Mr Nouri survived after fighting off his attacker.

Giving evidence from the witness box, Alid, a former pastry chef and shop owner, told jurors that he did stab Mr Nouri and Mr Carney and that it was wrong to do so.

When John Elvidge, defending, asked: “Do you agree you are responsible for the injuries that they suffered?”, via an Arabic interpreter he replied “no”.

And he said he did not intend to kill or cause really serious harm to either man.

Alid said he came to Europe in 2007 as there was a problem with the intelligence services monitoring his shop and they were “harassing” him.

Flowers placed at the junction of Raby Road and Tees Street, Hartlepool, in memory of Terrence Carney following his alleged murder.

He moved around the continent for years – spending time in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Austria – before he came to the UK in 2020 via a ferry, arriving in Middlesbrough.

The court heard he was arrested by police as he did not have the correct papers and he applied for asylum.

Hartlepool murder trial jury hears that suspect Ahmed Alid told police he would ...

Asked by Mr Elvidege if that was successful, Alid said: “I didn’t have any answer.”

He was allowed to work four hours a week although that did not lead to him getting a job, the court heard.

Alid, who had no previous convictions, was into fitness and was frequently seen running in Hartlepool, jurors were told.

Mr Nouri, a former bodybuilder, came to the asylum seekers’ accommodation at Wharton Terrace after Alid and the defendant said their first meeting comprised of the newcomer complaining about the property being dirty and him cleaning the bathroom.

Alid denied that he had talked to Mr Nouri about the new arrival’s decision to convert to Christianity and also denied threatening him.

He denies murder, attempted murder and assaulting two female detectives after they interviewed him.

The case continues.

Hartlepool murder trial: Defendant Ahmed Alid takes to the stand to admit stabbing Terrence Carney