Ex Man Utd steward denies suspect was ISIS sympathiser

An ex-Manchester United steward has told a jury he did not suspect a known sympathiser of the so-called Islamic State had bludgeoned to death an imam just moments after he left his car.

Matt O'Donoghue is at court.

Mohammed Hussain Syeedy, 21, is alleged to have acted as getaway driver for Mohammed Kadir, 24, in the murder of 71-year-old Jalal Uddin in a children's play area in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on February 18.

Both men are said to have targeted Mr Uddin because he used a form of healing involving amulets, known as taweez, which IS consider "black magic" and punishable by death.

Syeedy admits he and Kadir had been following the Bangladeshi national in his car on the night of the murder.

However he claims his associate wanted to dupe Mr Uddin into giving him a taweez book so they could present it to the rest of the community and argue it was dangerous.

The pair spotted Mr Uddin in South Street after he earlier visited his local mosque for evening prayers.

Former John Lewis department store call centre worker Kadir, of Oldham, got out of the car and followed him into a nearby park, Manchester Crown Court heard.

According to Syeedy, Kadir returned barely 90 seconds later "acting normal" and explained to him he did not approach Mr Uddin as two men were nearby.

Cross-examining, Paul Greaney QC asked Syeedy:

Syeedy met Kadir face to face in Oldham in the early hours of the following day after he said he heard various rumours in the community about what had happened to Mr Uddin.

He said the aim of the journey was to persuade Kadir to help the police with their inquiries.

The trial continues on Thursday.