Five men charged with helping a killer flee the country after he stabbed a young father to death outside a five-star hotel have denied perverting the course of justice.
Blue Stevens, 24, was knifed in front of his partner outside Park Tower Hotel and Casino, near Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, on July 9 last year.
Alleged killer Yousef Razak, 25, fled the country after the attack and a warrant is out for his arrest.
Nicholas McCoy, 22, Jayden Clement-Bryan, 24, Mozahedul Alam, 26, Shafwan Meah, 20, Ali Hindawi, 24, and Adan Hindawi, 25, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday.
McCoy, Clement-Bryan, Alam, Meah and Adan Hindawi all stood in the dock to deny the charge of committing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice. Ali Hindawi did not enter a plea today.
Three of the men wore blue Covid face masks in the dock.
McCoy, Clement-Bryan, Alam, and Adan Hindawi, are charged with assisting in the burning of a vehicle used in the murder.
Alam is accused alongside Meah of organising for a ferry to be booked for Razak.
Blue Stevens with his son. He was stabbed outside the £1,650-a-night 5-star Park Tower Hotel and Casino, which is directly across the road from the Harvey Nichols department store in Knightsbridge, on July 9
The victim had two children, including a little girl (pictured together)
The murder scene outside Park Tower Casino in London's Knightsbridge in July last year
Adan Hindawi is also accused of providing Razak with a vehicle to leave the country.
Ali Hindawi is accused of giving Razak his passport to assist him in leaving the country.
A trial is due to begin on November 9 at the Old Bailey.
Ali and Adnan Hindawi are brothers. Meah and Alam are also siblings.
Prosecutor Davi Burns earlier said: 'These charges arise out of the murder of Blue Stevens who was murdered by a male Yousef Razak.
'Mr Razak has now fled the country, these defendants have assisted Mr Razak to flee the country and generally escaping the course of justice.'
The men remain on conditional bail.
They must live and sleep each night at their home address, not apply for any international travel documents, not attempt to leave the UK and not contact their co-defendants unless they are brothers.
The police tent showing where Blue was stabbed outside Park Tower casino
Police swarmed the exclusive area at just before 9.30pm on July 9
In a statement Mr Stevens's family said: 'Nothing can undo what has been taken from us. Our lives will never be happy or complete without our Blue.
'We are pleading with anyone who has any information about this crime or the offender to come forward.
'Any information, no matter how small, could help our children to know their father's life mattered.'
Clement-Bryan, of Feltham, Alam, of Chiswick, Ali Hindawi, of Southall, Adan Hindawi, of Kensington, Meah, of Chiswick, and McKoy, of Chiswick, are charged with perverting the course of justice.
In January the victim's mother, Charlie Sheridan, accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of 'celebrating' the capital's falling homicide rates while her 'beautiful boy lies in his grave'.
Her comments came after the Metropolitan Police had released figures which showed homicide in London has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade.
There was just over one unlawful killing (1.07) per 100,000 people last year.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley paid tribute to the results of 'relentless work' to drive down violent crime in London, while Mr Khan said 'even the harshest critics of London would have to accept these figures are remarkable'.
But the 'celebrations' from Mr Rowley and Mr Khan had provoked a furious response from the family of murder victim Blue, whose brazen killer is still at large and may have fled the country.
Blue's partner left flowers at the scene of his murder and said: 'We are absolutely devastated without you. You took a piece of my heart with you. A part of me has gone with you'
Charlie Sheridan, Blue's mother, said it was an 'insult' that Sadiq Khan was 'celebrating' London's falling homicide rates. Pictured: Blue with his mother Charlie
Ms Sheridan, Blue's mother, told the Daily Mail: 'It's an absolute insult. I am furious watching them all giving each other a pat on the back whilst my beautiful boy lies in his grave.'
The grieving mother added: 'Is Sadiq Khan really bragging about the murder rate in London?
'Are they really celebrating the fabulous news about the number of murderers this last year. One murder is too many. How f***ing dare they?
'When the news broke about what happened to my son, Sadiq Khan refused to comment on any of it. He did not acknowledge what had happened to my son at all, not one word from him.'