Student Haroon Sharif denied being the 'ruthless general' who ordered his troops to set fire to a house with people in it.

Anum Khan, nine, and brother Majid, 15, died following a blaze at their home in Magdalen Road, East Oxford, on August 26 last year. Six people are on trial at Birmingham Crown Court accused of murdering the two youngsters.

Michael Austin-Smith QC, defending, accused Sharif yesterday of planning the attack with his girlfriend, co-defendant Riaz Munshi, because they both resented the Khan family.

Four of the defendants, including Munshi, travelled from Hertfordshire on the night of the fire to Oxford where they met up with Sharif in Cheney Lane, Headington.

Mr Austin-Smith said: "You gave them their marching orders in Cheney Lane." Sharif replied: "That's untrue."

The barrister then accused him of misleading the group by telling them no-one was at home in Magdalen Road.

He told Sharif he had been "the general, being ruthless with your troops to get them to do your bidding."

Sharif said: "That is untrue."

Mr Austin-Smith claimed Sharif recruited two "stupid white boys" to do his work for him and misled them all, controlling them from a distance.

He said: "You're the ruthless person behind this, aren't you?"

Sharif said: "No". Mr Austin-Smith said he was not suggesting that Sharif intended anyone to die, but that he thought the family would be able to escape when the house was set on fire.

Sharif said: "No."

The jury have heard that Munshi blamed the Khans after she and her sister were thrown out of Oxford by their brothers for abandoning a traditional Muslim way of life.

The Khans also blamed Sharif for being a bad influence on their son Amjad Khan, 24, who was jailed for dealing in heroin and was good friends with Sharif.

Sharif said he knew Khan had been dealing in heroin for a while but insisted he was not a drug dealer. He claimed he had been on good terms with the Khan family. The six on trial are Alan Swanton, of Southern Way, Letchworth, Hertfordshire; brothers Mohammed Nawaz, 21, and Haq Nawaz, 31, both of Ridge Road, Letchworth; Thomas Liedl of Birdshill, Letchworth; Haroon Sharif, 20, of Morrell Avenue, Oxford; and Riaz Munshi, 26, of Fulwell Road, Sheffield. They all deny the charges.

The trial continues.

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