This is the man accused of murdering the UK CEO of Qatar National Bank outside celebrity nightspot The Ivy.
Steven Allan, 34, confronted banking boss Paul Mason and knocked him to the ground outside the exclusive club in London‘s West End on December 15 2020.
The electrician accused the millionaire banker, 52, of kidnap after he fatally beat him in the random attack in London’s West End, a court heard.
Allan, who had been drinking in various bars, accused Mr Mason of stealing his friend’s mobile phone before knocking him to the ground.
Steve Allen has been accused of murdering bank boss Paul Mason, 52, with a single punch outside a bar in London’s West End in 2020
Mr Mason hit his head on the pavement after being punched – despite doctors’ attempts to save his life by replacing part of his skull with a titanium sheet, he died six months later
As Mr Mason tried to get up Allan hit him with an uppercut, with witnesses describing the ‘sickening crunch’ as his skull made contact with the pavement.
A witness said Mr Mason looked ‘passive’ and unwilling to get involved in a fight with Allan
Allan shouted at him: ‘Where’s your fight now’ as the victim lay senseless, the Old Bailey has heard.
Doctors battled to save Mr Mason and carried out a procedure to replace part of his skull with a sheet of titanium, but he died six months later.
Nayara Ruiz, who works as a critical care nurse at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, was out in the area with two fellow nurses.
They had left a Seven Dials restaurant at 10pm and were walking through Cambridge Circus when the incident took place.
She told the court: ‘We were waiting to cross the road when I heard some noises that caught my attention.
‘I saw the suspect and the victim, and their body language looked a bit awkward. I thought that they were having an argument.
‘It was mainly the suspect making noise. I couldn’t catch any words but it was his voice shouting at the victim.
Mr Mason was killed after spending an evening at the famous Ivy club in the West End, a well-known haunt for actors and executives
Mr Mason had been the chief executive officer at Qatar National Bank (pictured) at the time of his death
‘The victim looked more passive, he looked like he didn’t want to confront him. He wasn’t physically aggressive.
‘The suspect was more aggressive, he was more physically closer to the victim, more willing to get involved in this fight.
‘Then I saw the suspect pushing the victim with both hands in the chest.
‘The victim stumbled backwards, halfway down to the floor.
‘He tried to stand up, and then the suspect punched him on his face. The punch hit around his right eye.
‘After that punch the victim fell backwards onto the pavement and he ended up lying on his head, on his back.
‘When he fell, I heard a crack when his head hit the floor.
‘He wasn’t moving. I saw some spots of blood on the pavement and a bit on his forehead.
‘We went over to try and help him.
‘The suspect said “Leave him, don’t touch him, you don’t know what he did”. Then I think he said he had kidnapped someone.’
Jurors have heard Ms Ruiz’s friend Laura Gil Selva recalled Allan saying: ‘Don’t touch him or help him. You don’t know what he did. He’s kidnapped my nephew!’
Ms Ruiz said: ‘I assessed him [Mr Mason], he was unconscious, he wasn’t moving, he did not respond.
‘We didn’t move him because he had a head injury. I think the suspect was approaching him but my friends and I were really keen to tell him “please don’t touch him, please don’t move him.”‘
‘He was gasping, he was struggling to breathe. We told somebody there to call for an ambulance.’
Allan’s defence lawyer William Boyce, KC, said a passing taxi blocking her view meant Ms Ruiz could not be sure Allan had punched Mr Mason in the face.
Ms Ruiz said she was able to see the incident through the taxi’s windows.
Allan, of Hook, Hampshire, admits manslaughter but denies murder.
The trial continues.
