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THE jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering Finsbury Park teenager Shaquan Sammy-Plummer has retired to consider its verdict.

Jemal Williams, 20, is on trial at the Old Bailey over the alleged knifing of Shaquan, 17, outside a house in Winchmore Hill, Enfield, where a party was being held on January 30 last year. He claims he acted in self-defence.

The accused – who denies murder – told the jury that Shaquan pulled out a knife during an argument which ensued after he told the teenager and his friends they could not come into his house. He claimed the knife ended up in the victim’s chest following a struggle.

The court heard Shaquan arrived at the party with two friends, including the boyfriend of the accused’s sister, Chris Nzeh, whose nickname is “CK” or “Certified Killer”.

“I explained to them that my mum was asleep,” Williams said. “I said CK could come in but not the other two. I kept saying: ‘It’s not up to me’.”

The boys walked away from the house as the argument continued, Williams told the jury. “He [CK] said: ‘Stop being a dickhead.’ I said: ‘You can’t bring any old street rats to my house.’ Shaquan overheard it and he got angry.

“He said: ‘Are you calling me a street rat, you f****** dickhead?’ He walked up to me and pulled out a knife. I grabbed his wrists with both my hands, I was trying to push the guy away from me. He was trying to push it towards me.”

Williams said the knife ended up in Shaquan’s chest as he tried to push him away.

Defending, Michael Bromley-Martin QC asked Williams: “When you pushed or shoved him away from you, did you hope that it would kill him? Did you hope or intend you would cause him really serious harm?”

“No,” the defendant replied. “If I didn’t [push him away] I would’ve got stabbed.” After the “struggle”, Williams said, he went to his cousin’s friend’s house in Tottenham.

Paramedics fought to save Shaquan after he collapsed on the pavement, but he died soon after at the Royal Free Hospital, in Hampstead. A post-mortem examination found that he died as a result of a single stab wound to the chest.

Known to his family as “Nung”, and to his friends as “Shaq”, the victim, whose favourite subject was maths, attended LaSwap sixth-form consortium in Camden.

Williams admitted it was normal for him to carry a knife. The court heard he had previous convictions for possession of a knife and had pleaded guilty to robbery.

“We all carry knives,” he added.