A 74-year-old man will face trial for the alleged murder of policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky in 2005.

Piran Ditta Khan was extradited from Pakistan over the killing of PC Beshenivsky, who was 38 years old when she was shot dead while on duty.

The married mother of three died after responding to reports of a robbery at a travel shop in Bradford.

PC Beshenivsky was a probationer who had served just nine months with West Yorkshire Police.

She had attended the scene with her colleague PC Teresa Milburn, who was seriously injured.

Khan appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to PC Beshenivsky’s murder.

He also denied two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and a further two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon on the day of the alleged murder.

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The firearms charges have been made over the alleged possession of a Mac 10 submachine gun and a 9mm pistol, the court was told.

The submachine gun is said to have been “designed or adapted so that two or more missiles could be successfully discharged without repeated pressure on the trigger”.

Khan was assisted by a Punjabi interpreter during the hearing but gave his pleas in English.

He admitted a single charge of robbery on 18 November 2005 – the same day of PC Beshenivsky was killed – in relation to stealing cash from a man called Mohammed Yousaf.

The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, appeared at Leeds Crown Court via videolink from the Old Bailey.

He remanded Khan in custody until his next hearing, with a trial date scheduled for next February.

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PC Beshenivsky was killed on her daughter’s fourth birthday.

At the time of the tragedy, she was the seventh serving female officer ever to be killed in the line of duty in Britain.

The nation came to a standstill for her funeral, with hundreds of officers lining the route of the cortege.

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In 2007, the policewoman’s daughter Lydia and son Paul – who were five and eight at the time – met the late Queen Elizabeth with their father in Bradford.

A memorial was unveiled at the scene of her death in 2009.

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