A gunman today admitted shooting dead policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky.

But Yusuf Jamma told Newcastle Crown Court he did not intend to fire the gun, he did not know it was loaded and did not intend to harm anyone.

Jamma admitted that at the start of the trial he had made a statement accepting that the gun was in his possession when it was discharged, fatally injuring PC Beshenivsky, 38.

PC Sharon Beshenivsky was killed and PC Teresa Milburn seriously injured when the 9mm pistol he was holding went off three times outside the premises of the Universal Express travel agents on Morley Street in Bradford.

He told the court he had been driven by his brother, Mustaf Jamma, from London to Leeds in the early hours of November 18 last year in a Rav 4 and went to a house in Harehills Lane. On the way he smoked cannabis and at the house he drank vodka.

But he said he did not know there was to be a robbery until after he woke up later that morning. He said he was persuaded by his brother and another man known as Uncle Pete to take part. He said he did not know any firearms would be used until Shah produced a machine gun from a bag a few minutes before they parked up in Bradford. He said it looked plastic and he did not think it was real.

Jamma said that up until parking the car he thought his role in the robbery was to be the getaway driver, but his brother said they needed an extra person to make sure nothing went wrong.

As they were leaving the car his brother gave him the 9mm pistol which he stuffed down his waist.

He said that in the travel agents he jumped over the counter and pushed a member of staff into the back office but denied hitting anybody.

Jamma said that after the street wardens called at the premises there was panic and he, his brother and Shah tried to get out of the front door. He had heard a loud bang inside the premises but did not know what it was.

He said the events as they left the premises happened in a split second.

"Shah was to my left. I remember hearing me pulling the trigger. It went a loud bang. It wasn't as loud as I heard inside. It sounded muffled," he said.

He said he did not intentionally discharge the gun in his hand. "I can't remember seeing the officer. It was a blur." He did not recall the second shot which hit PC Milburn.

Jamma told the court this afternoon he could not remember shooting the two women police officers.

But under cross-examination by prosecutor Robert Smith QC he said he could recall getting out of the Rav 4 car to commit the robbery and being given the pistol.

Jamma said he knew he had pulled the trigger on the day it happened but did not know he had hit anyone. He said he realised he had shot PC Beshenivsky when he watched TV news days after the incident.

He admitted being close to Muzzaker Shah but denied trying to get him off the attempted murder of PC Milburn by making a defence statement at the start of the trial admitting he was in possession of the gun when the officers were shot.

Jamma insisted he did not mean to shoot the officers. "It was an accident. I did not mean to squeeze the trigger," he said.

He added: "Everything happened in less than a second. All I remember is squeezing the trigger once and hearing a muffled noise. Everything else has been a blur to me."

He accepted he must have pulled the trigger three times but added: "I did not aim. If it was me that had the gun in my hand the gun must have discharged three times wherever it was aimed towards. I don't remember."

Jamma said that after the robbery he was given £10,000 by his brother. He admitted he said nothing to his brother when he found out the plan was to commit robbery with firearms.

He said when the pistol was put in his hand he assumed it was an imitation firearm.

Jamma today changed his pleas to guilty on two charges of possessing prohibited weapons.

Earlier today, the judge Mr Justice Andrew Smith, ordered the jury to find his 25-year-old co-defendant Muzzaker Shah not guilty of Pc Milburn's attempted murder following legal discussions.

The judge said the attempted murder case against Shah - who admits Pc Beshenivsky's murder, robbery and firearms offences - could not be continued and he will play no further role in the trial.