The three men on trial for the fatal stabbing of Camden man Mohammed Aqil Mahdi at Bow Lock were his 'associates', the Old Bailey heard this afternoon.

A dog walker found the body of Mohammed - who was better known as Aqil - in a small secluded enclosure at the rear of Springer Court, in Navigation Road at about 8.45am on Saturday (November 6).

According to Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Joel Smith, he had been "savagely attacked" and stabbed multiple times in his shoulder and buttocks.

Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the 22-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Majed Ahmed, 18, of Navigation Road in Bromley-by-Bow, Muzahid Ali, 21, of Bishops Way in Cambridge Heath and Abul Kashem, 28, of Victoria Dock Road in Newham all appeared via Videolink from Thameside Prison at the Old Bailey this afternoon (November 12).

Laying out the prosecution's case, Mr Smith said: "The defendants are all associates of the deceased."

Kashem made a formal application for bail, however His Honour Judge Simon Mayo QC refused to grant bail to him and his two co-defendants.

All three defendants were remanded in custody until the next hearing at the same court on January 28, when they will enter their pleas.

They were told that they need to file a "properly detailed defence statement" by January 27.

Ahmed was arrested after attending a north London police station on Monday - November 8 - while Ali was arrested the following day at an address in Tower Hamlets.

Kashem was arrested later that same day (November 9).