Murder plot-accused tells trial he had sexual relationship with ‘topsking’

A man accused of plotting a murder and importing cocaine worth £5 million into the UK using the encrypted EncroChat messaging platform, has told his trial he was in a sexual relationship

with a man known as "thetopsking". The Old Bailey has previously heard James Harding, 34, was the "most senior player" in the drugs operation between April and June 2020.

It is alleged that Harding and his co-accused, Jayes Kharouti, 39, also attempted to recruit a hitman to kill an unnamed individual involved in the business with a firearm, in late May and

early June of the same year. Prosecutors say Harding, who lived in Dubai at the time of the alleged offences, used the handle "thetopsking" while discussing plans on EncroChat

Kharouti. But opening his defence case on Friday, Clare Montgomery KC told jurors Harding did not use the handle, and instead was in a relationship with the man who did. "He (Harding)

has for a long time been too ashamed to admit, and has always wanted to keep private, until this case has forced him to reveal his secret life," Ms Montgomery told jurors. "That

secret is that he had an intense and sexual relationship with 'thetopsking'." Ms Montgomery told jurors Harding was used by "thetopsking" to book flights and

restaurants. "You will have to decide whether Harding is a cold-blooded criminal or whether he is a vulnerable person who has been taken advantage of," she said. Softly spoken

Harding, who wore a light blue shirt and cream cardigan in the witness box, told jurors "thetopsking" was "an intimate partner of mine". The court heard Harding was born

with hemifacial microsomia, a condition causing the left side of the face to be under-developed. He had multiple surgeries as a child and teenager to correct it, jurors heard. The jury was

shown images of a younger Harding with a deformed left ear, cheek and jaw. Harding broke down in tears in the witness box as he saw the pictures of his younger self. "I was alienated by

everyone at school because of it," he told the court. Jurors heard Harding had feelings for "boys and girls" as a teenager, but "suppressed" his homosexual desires.

As a teenager, Harding, who grew up in Hampshire, began to sell legal highs to make money, the court was told. He said he advertised the drugs using online classified adverts. In August

2012 he was arrested and charged with drugs offences and possession of false ID documents, jurors were told. "Looking back, I was relieved to be arrested," he told the court. He

pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to prison in October 2013, serving his sentence until February 2016. Harding told the court he had been in a relationship with a young mother,

which broke down while he was in jail. His ex-girlfriend contacted him after he was released, to apologise for the way she had treated him while he was imprisoned, Harding told jurors.

"I'd always felt rejected," he said. "And I wanted to know why she would leave me like that. "She explained to me she wouldn't have just left me for anyone. Her

daughter's dad had got back into contact with her and wanted to rebuild a relationship with his daughter." Ms Montgomery told the court "thetopsking" is the biological

father of Harding's ex-partner's child, who was born in 2010. "It is also part of the reason why (Harding) was so ashamed of it (the claimed relationship with thetopsking), as

it was happening when (Harding) was in a relationship with (the mother), and indeed in a country (Dubai) where such behaviour is frowned on," Ms Montgomery told jurors. Harding told

jurors he rekindled his relationship with the mother in late 2016 and she and her daughter moved in with him in Alton, Hampshire. In 2019, Harding claims he, his girlfriend and her daughter

moved to Dubai where the father, or thetopsking, was living. Harding told the court he always found thetopsking, or "TK", good-looking and charming, but things changed after a

night out at the end of 2019. "We went to brunch at a place called Mama Zonia in Dubai, and after that a group of us went back to TK's villa, and after some time people were

leaving," Harding told jurors. "TK and I were drinking, and drinking quite a lot, and we ended up becoming intimate." He added: "I wasn't proud of myself at all. I

felt disgusted with myself." Asked by Ms Montgomery whether he was willing to tell jurors "TK's" real name, Harding said: "No, I can't." He told jurors he

was scared of being attacked if he revealed TK's identity, adding that prison is "the worst place to be" because "people would know where I am". Prosecutors allege

Harding and Kharouti were involved in importing cocaine, making about £5 million in profit in 10 weeks. Kharouti has admitted using the handle "besttops" on EncroChat, the court

has heard. The "besttops" handle sent an image of Kharouti's passport to another user on March 28 2020, to assist in arranging a flight to the UK, the trial has heard. Jurors

previously heard that in messages sent on April 1 2020, "thetopsking" told other users when "lands" of cocaine were going to happen, and provided them with co-ordinates

to collect the drugs close to Dover, where they had entered the UK by lorry. Harding was arrested at Geneva airport in Switzerland on December 27 2021, and was extradited from Switzerland to

the UK on May 27 2022, before he was arrested, the court has heard. He was in possession of a United Arab Emirates residence permit on his arrest, which gave his profession as a sales

executive of luxury watches. Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK on June 25 last year. Kharouti, of Epsom, Surrey, denies conspiracy to murder, while Harding, of Dubai, denies the

same charge and conspiracy with others to import cocaine. The trial continues.