Kriss Donald was murdered in March 2004

Zeeshan Shahid, 28, also told the High Court in Edinburgh he was not involved in the alleged abduction and murder of the 15-year-old from Glasgow.

He said he had never been to the Clyde walkway, where Kriss' body was found.

Mr Shahid, his brother Imran, 29, and Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq, 27, all deny racially aggravated murder.

Kriss' body was found on the walkway on 16 March, 2004.

I wasn't hiding anywhere Zeeshan Shahid

Zeeshan Shahid, known by the nickname Crazy, is the only one of the three accused to give evidence on his own behalf.

He repeatedly denied he was in Kenmure Street, Pollokshields, when Kriss was snatched and that he had anything to do with assaulting him.

Mr Shahid said he travelled to Paris in April 2004, a month after the murder, for business talks with an uncle who runs a garment warehouse.

He later he went to Lahore in Pakistan where the family have a factory.

Mr Shahid told the court that he did not learn about Kriss Donald's murder until June 2005 when the Pakistani authorities told him extradition proceedings had been started.

A car linked to the murder was found in a lane in Glasgow

He later agreed to go back to the UK.

Advocate depute Mark Stewart QC, prosecuting, said: "I am suggesting you are a liar and you knew full well the police were looking for you and that is why you were hiding out in Pakistan."

Mr Shahid said: "I wasn't hiding anywhere."

"At that time Pakistan did not have an extradition treaty with the UK," said Mr Stewart.

"You were in Pakistan because you thought you were safe, you and your two colleagues who were involved with you in the brutal, cruel and callous murder of this young boy and you were hiding from British justice."

Mr Shahid said he did not know about the extradition situation in mid-2004.

Silver Mercedes

Mr Stewart went on to suggest that Mr Shahid had been involved with the other men in a series of events leading up to the death of Kriss Donald, including buying petrol and driving to the Clyde walkway where the teenager was stabbed and set on fire.

"You left him alight and alive, blazing and dying," Mr Stewart said.

As the boy's death was described, Zeeshan Shahid interrupted to protest "No" or "That's not true"

Mr Shahid also denied earlier evidence from Hafeez Anwar that he had been involved in burning clothes in an alley and setting fire to a silver Mercedes linked to the murder.

He told his defence QC Norman Ritchie that Mr Anwar hated him because he had got his sister pregnant.

Mr Shahid said: "It was considered a disgrace to the family. It was shameful. It didn't go down too well.

"He threatened to kill me over this."

The court had earlier heard from Zahid Mohammed, 22, newly released after serving half of a five-year sentence for his part in the abduction of Kriss.

He said Zeeshan Shahid was one of the attackers.

Confronted with Mr Mohammed's account, Mr Shahid said it was "all lies".