A British law student accused of possibly targeting Tony Blair or plotting a "Mumbai-style" attack has denied that he ever intended to commit an act of terrorism.

Erol Incedal, 26, is on trial at the Old Bailey charged with preparing for an act of terrorism and possessing a terrorist document about bomb making.

Part of the trial at the Old Bailey is being heard in secret, but the first 20 minutes of Incedal's defence in the witness box was held in open court.

Defending, Joel Bennatham QC asked him: "Did you intend anything you did would commit an act of terrorism?"

The father-of-three said: "No, Mr Bennatham, I never did. I never intended."

The lawyer went on to ask Incedal about a memory card containing two documents on bomb-making which were found in his iPhone case when he was arrested on October 13 last year.

Incedal admitted that he had possessed the SD card but denied that he viewed its contents.

Mr Bennatham said: "Did you have any idea of the sort of documents on that card?"

The defendant said: "Yes, I did."

The lawyer went on: "Without going into details, did you have a reasonable excuse or not?"

Incedal replied: "I believe I did, yes."

mfl Page 2: 13:54 The court has heard that the father-of-three was driving near Tower Bridge when he and co-defendant Mounir Rarmoul-Bouhadjar were stopped by armed police and arrested on October 13 last year.

Police had been monitoring his conversations since bugging his black Mercedes car after he was stopped for driving at 60mph in a 40mph zone without insurance on September 30 last year.

Incedal denies the charges against him. But the jury has been told that Rarmoul-Bouhadjar, also 26, from London, has admitted possessing a terrorist document.

During his evidence, Incedal told jurors that he had become interested in religion from the age of about 13 and was also really into football.

He described to the court how he became involved with a religious movement called Tableeghi Jamaat with his co-defendant and old school friend Rarmoul-Bouhadja.

Incedal said: "It is a Muslim organisation that is all over the world, mainly focusing on self-rectification and learning the religion and passing on the message to fellow Muslims to do the same."

He told jurors that members of the organisation travelled all over the world and he had been to Greece, India, New York, as well as Bangladesh with the group.

Incedal went on to tell the court that he married his wife when they were both 17-years-old and they started a family together.

After getting some GCSEs and trying for A-Levels, he went to live with his new wife in a small room at her mother's house.

The couple had difficulties with housing and went from bed and breakfasts to a hostel before being found temporary accommodation in south London.

On completing his studies at Westminster College, Incedal went on to London South Bank University where he took a course in law and accountancy. He described his first year at university as "the best time of my life".

Then in 2010, during a trip to New York with Tableeghi Jamaat, Incedal said her suffered a seizure of some sort.

After that, he began to plan setting up a Halal butcher's shop with a friend from the group on the Walworth Road area of south east London.

But, he told the court that his only source of income at the time was student loans and things were financially "very, very difficult".

Earlier, as the prosecution concluded its evidence, the court heard that the documents on the memory cards seized by police - CB.pdf and Goodstuff.doc - contained instructions on bomb- making.

A senior police officer who examined them produced a statement in January 2014 in which she concluded that following the instructions could produce viable explosives.

The document CB.pdf on car bomb recognition contained a number of annotated pictures on IEDs - improvised explosive devices - and booby traps.

The officer concluded that "while some of the suggestions are viable, the majority are over- elaborate and others farcical".

The second document, which included details of how to make an improvised detonator, contained some "accurate information that could be used to produce some viable materials and devices", the court heard.

The trial continued behind closed doors.