Meredith Kercher accused housemate Amanda Knox of stealing her money to buy drugs the night she was killed, it has been claimed.

According to suspect Rudy Guede, the British student from Coulsdon argued with American suspect Knox, saying she had taken about £200 of her money for drugs and accused her of being "addicted".

His testimony was made in transcripts of police interviews which were released yesterday and printed in the Corriere dell'Umbria newspaper.

Bank records showed Meredith withdrew 250 euros from a cash machine in Perugia in order to pay her rent two days before her death.

The police said 200 euros was found in Knox's bag when she was arrested, but they could not prove the money was Meredith's.

Guede, who is in custody, also claimed he saw the third suspect - Italian Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's boyfriend - with a knife.

Meredith, 21, was stabbed three times in her throat in her flat in Perugia, Italy, in November.

Knox, 20, Guede, 21, from the Ivory Coast, and Sollecito, 24, all deny any involvement with her death.