Sean “Diddy” Combs’s public persona was that of a “charismatic” hip-hop mogul – but behind the scenes he forced women into “freak off” sexual encounters with escorts and blackmailed them with videos, prosecutors alleged during the first day of his trial.

In the courtroom in Manhattan, New York, Combs blew a kiss to his mother and family members supporting him, before listening intently as opening statements from the prosecution and defence outlined the details of the high-profile case.

The hip-hop mogul, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, and strenuously denied all allegations of sexual abuse.

His defence lawyers say all sexual encounters were consensual and that the case is really about nothing more than Combs’s sexual preferences, which they say should remain private. Combs is a “flawed individual”, they argue, but not a racketeer or a sex trafficker.

The court also heard evidence from two witnesses – a former hotel security guard and a male escort.

But first, prosecutor Emily Johnson gave her opening statement.

“To the public, he was Puff Daddy or Diddy,” she told the court, describing Combs as a “business icon” and “larger than life”.

However, there was another side to the rapper, she says – a side that “ran a criminal enterprise”, she said. He sometimes “called himself the king”, Ms Johnson said, and expected to be treated like one.

“This is Sean Combs,” Ms Johnson told jurors as she pointed at Combs, who leaned back in his chair. “During this trial you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant’s crimes.”

Those crimes, she said, included kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery and obstruction.

Ms Johnson said Combs beat and sexually exploited his former long-term girlfriend Cassie, who was named in court, and compelled the singer and other women to take drugs and have sex with male escorts.

He threatened to ruin Cassie’s career by publicly releasing videos of these sexual encounters, which were dubbed “freak offs”, jurors heard.

“Her livelihood depended on keeping him happy,” the prosecutor said.

Jurors will hear testimonies from alleged victims who will talk about “some of the most painful experiences of their lives”, Ms Johnson continued. “The days they spent in hotel rooms, high on drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant’s sexual fantasies.”

‘This is not a complicated case’

But Teny Geragos, who is on Combs’s defence team, painted a very different picture.

“Sean Combs is a complicated man,” she told the court. “But this is not a complicated case. This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money.”

Ms Geragos conceded that Combs could be violent and said she understood some jurors might not condone this, nor his “kinky sex”. But the rapper is “not charged with being mean”, she said, and his lifestyle may have been indulgent, but it was not illegal.

She also claimed Combs’s accusers were motivated by money.

Cassie hotel footage shown in court

After the opening statements, the first witness, Israel Florez, was called to the stand.

Now a police officer in LA, in March 2016, Mr Florez worked as a security guard at a hotel in Los Angeles, where Combs was filmed on CCTV seemingly attacking R&B singer and model Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura.

After CNN aired video of the attack last year, the rapper apologised in a video on social media and said he was “disgusted” by his actions.

Video footage of this incident was shown in court as Mr Florez gave his testimony.

He told the court he recognised Combs after responding to a call of a woman in distress on the sixth floor of the hotel. The rapper was wearing only a towel and socks, Mr Florez told the court, and had “a blank stare, like a devilish stare, just looking at me”.

He said that as he was escorting Ms Ventura and Combs to their room, she indicated she wanted to leave and the rapper told her: “You’re not going to leave.”

Combs then offered him money and told him “don’t tell nobody”, Mr Florez said.

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The second witness, Daniel Phillip, used to work as a male escort, the court was told. He said he met Ms Ventura at a hotel in Manhattan, where he thought he was attending a bachelorette party.

However, he said he ended up having sex with Ms Ventura as Combs watched and masturbated, and that he was paid several thousand dollars.

Mr Phillip said he had several subsequent encounters with the then couple, which lasted between an hour and 10 hours, and that he witnessed or heard the rapper being violent on two occasions.

He told the court he did not intervene as Combs was powerful, and that he feared for his life. His evidence will continue tomorrow.

The trial is expected to last about eight weeks. Combs faces up to life in prison if he is convicted.

Police investigating a fire at a north London house owned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are also looking into whether it is linked to two other recent blazes.

The Metropolitan Police said on Monday evening that detectives are checking a vehicle fire in NW5 last week and a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on Sunday to see whether they are connected to the fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s house in the early hours of Monday morning.

The prime minister is understood to still own the home and used to live there before he and his family moved into 10 Downing Street after Labour won last year’s general election. It is believed the property is being rented out.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation as a precaution, the Met said.

The blaze damaged the entrance to the house, but there were no injuries, the force said.

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A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: “On Monday 12 May at 1.35am, police were alerted by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a fire at a residential address.

“Officers attended the scene. Damage was caused to the property’s entrance, nobody was hurt.

“As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the potential cause of the fire.”

A police cordon and officers, as well as investigators from London Fire Brigade, could be seen outside and at one point, part of the street was cordoned off to all vehicles.

London Fire Brigade said firefighters were called just after 1am, and the blaze was out within half an hour. It described the incident as “a small fire outside a property”.

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Sir Keir expressed his gratitude to the police and fire services via his official spokesman, who said: “I can only say that the prime minister thanks the emergency services for their work, and it is subject to a live investigation. So I can’t comment any further.”

On Monday, Sir Keir made a major policy speech on immigration, promising to bring down net migration by the end of this parliament with a system that is “controlled, selective and fair”.

He did not clarify how far he wants figures to fall, only saying numbers will come down “substantially” as he set out plans in the government’s Immigration White Paper, including banning care homes from hiring overseas.