A man on trial with his businessman father for allegedly helping him to run an illegal indoor market chose not to speak out in his own defence at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

Khalid Saeed’s barrister, Timothy Bass, told the jury: “I call no evidence.”

Mr Bass then stated: “Khalid Saeed has no criminal convictions or cautions.”

John Barrett, prosecuting the case for Bradford Council, said the jury was entitled to draw “an adverse inference” from the fact that Saeed, 27, had declined to take the witness stand.

Saeed and his father, Mohammed Saeed, 55, deny flouting planning rules by running an indoor market without permission.

The defendants, both of Stainbeck Lane, Leeds, plead not guilty to contravening a Stop Notice, between July 14 and 17, and July 21 and 24, 2012 relating to premises at Beckside Business Park, in Beckside Road, Lidget Green, Bradford.

Mr Barrett has told the jury that Mohammed Saeed’s firm, the Italian Furniture Company, bought a large building on the site and it was operated by DP Furniture Franchising, trading as Tradex.

In June last year, the Council issued an Enforcement and Stop Notice requiring the company to “cease the unauthorised use” of the site for retail purposes “in the form of an indoor market”.

It is alleged that the following month, there were still about 148 stalls in use at the Tradex site.

Mohammed Saeed told the jury he had never applied to the Council for planning permission to run a market.

His barrister, Simon Pickles, asked him: “Has it ever been your intention to operate the premises as a market?”

Mohammed Saeed replied: “No. Never.” He insisted: “We are not a market.”

In his closing speech to the jury, Mr Barrett urged them not to leave their commonsense out of their deliberations.

He said the Tradex membership scheme was a “smokescreen” and “not worth the paper it is written on”.

Council staff had been able to enter the premises unchallenged to buy things.

The defendants wanted the public through the doors in order to serve the goods, Mr Barrett told the jury.

Judge John Potter was today summing up the case to jurors.

The trial continues.