THE man accused of murdering Birmingham taxi driver Mohammed Arshad has claimed the knife that killed the victim was wielded by his childhood friend.

Andrew Bayliss, who denies murdering Mr Arshad in a country lane near Birmingham, said he struck a “50/50” split deal to rob the taxi driver with a man called Craig Thomas.

The 29-year-old said he was only reunited with his friend – and later accomplice – days before.

He said they both came up with the plot to steal from the taxi driver to help Bayliss clear spiralling debts from drugs and gambling, totalling about £20,000.

He claimed he never knew Thomas planned to arm himself with a kitchen knife as they hatched their scheme to rob Mr Arshad by using “intimidation and restraint”.

He said they assigned each other roles – Bayliss being responsible for rifling through Mr Arshad’s Ford Galaxy, while he said Thomas “would do the physical part”.

Leaning into the microphone in the witness box at Worcester Crown Court, he calmly described the moment he felt “such a surprise” when his boyhood pal stabbed Mr Arshad 14 times.