A north-east dad has denied plotting, with six others, to murder a Fraserburgh man.
John Henderson was giving evidence for a second day at the High Court in Glasgow after he admitted killing Gary Clampett by “striking out” at him with a knife on Wednesday.
The 47-year-old is accused of murdering Mr Clampett along with Gary Martin, 37, Joseph Martin, 40, Thomas Martin , 45, David Graham, 46, James Connor, 52, and Dean Leech, 25.
All seven deny murdering Mr Clampett by hitting him with knives, a machete, a sword, a chain, a hammer, a crowbar, a wrench, a stick, bats, golf clubs, poles and a metal bat at Fernie Place, Fraserburgh, on June 18, last year.
The jury previously heard that Henderson went armed with a knife along with Thomas Martin, Connor and Leech to collect Gary Martin from a nearby street in the early hours of the morning, after hearing about an alleged incident.
Henderson claimed he had hit Mr Clampett with the knife three times while being chased by his wife Sharon, who was wielding a pole, and another woman, Rena Sutherland, who had a knife.
When asked by Donald Findlay QC, on behalf of Gary Martin, Henderson said that he had not told the other men in the car that he had the weapon.
The father of two, from Fraserburgh, said that Gary Martin had only realised he had stabbed Mr Clampett when he saw the blade in his hands when they got back in their car and drove off.
When cross-examined by advocate depute Paul Kearney he denied the group had set out to murder Mr Clampett.
He said he would never have got in the car if the plan was to kill him.
Henderson said he did not even know if the knife had connected with Mr Clampett until he saw blood on the blade.
He admitted later throwing the weapon behind bushes after “panicking”.
However he rejected Mr Kearney’s suggestion that he was trying to “water down” his – or his co-accused’s – responsibility for Mr Clampett’s death.
“I would never have thought I would ever have stabbed someone,” he added.
The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.