"I told him to go to the police."
Lawyer Mohammed Adil Khan has been accused of plotting a cover-up to help his brother evade justice.
Audi A3 driver Mohammed Sullaiman Khan was allegedly “racing at catastrophically high speeds” before smashing into a BMW and killing brothers Sanjay Singh and Pawanveer Singh.
Prosecutors have said family and friends “hatched a plan” following the tragedy in Birmingham New Road, Wolverhampton, to “cover-up” Mohammed Sullaiman Khan’s involvement.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court, Mohammed Adil Khan admitted he felt “completely overwhelmed” on the day of the incident because of “pressures as a lawyer and as a brother”.
Prosecutor Robert Price said: “Your sense of loyalty overwhelmed you because blood is thicker than water and that’s why you involved yourself in coordinating this cover-up, didn’t you?”
Mr Khan replied: “No, I did not coordinate, encourage or agree a plan with anyone to do anything.”
The 35-year-old lawyer denied conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Rashane Henry and Mohammed Asim Khan deny the same charge.
During the trial, jurors heard how Sullaiman “quickly” fled the scene after the crash at around 8:45 pm on March 14, 2019.
Just an hour later, he was captured on camera ordering food at Slamburger on Birmingham’s Ladypool Road.
Giving evidence, Mr Khan was aware his brother had “left the scene” after the collision but denied knowing he was “running away from police”.
He said his “priority” was to ensure his brother handed himself in.
Mr Khan said: “I wanted him to speak to the police. I wanted him to tell police he was the driver because he left the car at the scene. My priority was that he did the right thing.
“I told him to go to the police.”
Mr Khan went on to say he believed his brother was planning to speak to officers.
This was because Sullaiman had allegedly said he had arranged to attend West Midlands Police headquarters Lloyd House.
A “false report” was previously made to police following the crash, suggesting a burglar who had stolen the Audi was to blame for the collision.
Earlier in the trial, Mohammed Asim Khan said Sullaiman made the call to police because “voices in his head told him to”.
The court was told he suffers from mental health issues.
Mr Khan denied there were “bonds of loyalty” between him and his two brothers and that they “had each other’s backs”.
The married lawyer said: “We live different lives.”
Mr Price asked: “You would help each other out in a crisis wouldn’t you?”
Mr Khan replied: “I have to disagree.”
Mr Price continued: “You would help any one of your brothers if he was in trouble?”
Mr Khan replied: “If he were to do the right thing, I would help them.”
The prosecutor put it to the lawyer that his brother Mohammed Asim Khan was the “perfect candidate to phone the police and make a false report”.
Refuting the allegations, Mr Khan replied: “No discourtesy to the court, that’s a sick suggestion.
“What you’re suggesting is that I would use him as a candidate to do something illegal, knowing it could kill him – and I’m an officer of the court.”
Mr Khan had been a lawyer since 2016 and had been practising as a criminal lawyer for three years at the time of the collision.
Mr Price said: “That night, in the heat of the moment, in grave circumstances, you assisted Mohammed Sullaiman Khan to deceive the police, didn’t you?
“And you acted as a go-between, between your brothers Mohammed Sullaiman Khan and Mohammed Asim Khan?”
Mr Khan replied: “I did no such thing.”
Mr Price put it to the lawyer that he failed to give police a number to contact Sullaiman because he wanted officers “nowhere near” his brother.
Mr Khan “completely disagreed” before denying he was “instrumental in the cover-up”.
He added:
“I was not involved in any cover-up. You have got it completely wrong.”
Prosecutors say Bentley driver Hamza Shahid and Mohammed Sullaiman Khan are both responsible for the crash.
Both men – who did not know each other – allegedly took part in a “spontaneous race” before the fatal collision.
Arathi Nahar, the mother of the crash and the driver of the BMW, was also seriously injured.
Sullaiman previously admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He had denied conspiracy to pervert the course of justice but changed his plea and admitted the charge halfway through the trial.
Shahid denies two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
A sixth man Tejinder Singh previously had an application granted for his case to be severed from the other men.
It means the 31-year-old will be tried separately at a date to be set due to a “serious illness” he is currently experiencing.
The trial continues.
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