Jury sworn in for Pc murder trial

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A jury has been sworn in at the trial of five men accused of murdering Pc Sharon Beshenivsky during an alleged robbery at a travel agents in Bradford.

Yusuf Abdillh Jamma, 20, Raza Haq Aslam, 25, Faisal Razzaq, 25, Hassan, Razzaq, 26, and Mussaker Imtiaz Shah, 25, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court.

Mr Jama is from Whitmore Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. Mr Aslam is from St Pancras Way, Kentish Town, London.

Brothers Faisal and Hassan Razzaq are from Sebert Road, Forest Gate, London.

Pc Beshenivsky, 38, was shot dead as she responded to an alleged armed robbery at Universal Express Travel Agents in Morley Street, Bradford on 18 November 2005 - her daughter Lydia's fourth birthday.

Her colleague Pc Teresa Milburn was injured in the shooting.

'Long trial'

Mr Justice Smith told a group of potential jurors: "We are starting a long trial today.

"It is a trial about a shooting in Bradford last November in which a police officer called Sharon Beshenivsky died, and her colleague Teresa Milburn was injured.

"Five defendants are to be tried and the charges include the murder of the one police officer and the attempted murder of the other.

"The prosecution estimate that the trial will last six to eight weeks.

"Of course, that is only an estimate but everyone will be doing their best to avoid it going longer than that."

The judge said the case will be opened on Thursday morning, as he has legal questions to consider in the meantime.