Stuart Cursley denies any part in "Armageddon plan".

Multiplex's in-house quantity surveyor has denied that his valuation of Cleveland Bridge's steelwork on Wembley was part of a plan to force the subcontractor off site after it lifted the arch.

Cleveland Bridge claims it agreed a final figure of £32.66m with Multiplex for work carried out to 15 February 2004, which Multiplex later reneged on as part of its "Armageddon plan" to force the subcontractor off site in July 2004.

Cleveland Bridge says this strategy was designed to save money on the steelwork package, which had spiralled from £60m to £90m by May 2004.

Multiplex says that the £32.66m figure was only intended for "cash flow" and was subject to "clawback".

Hugh Tomlinson, Cleveland Bridge's barrister, put it to Stuart Cursley, Multiplex's QS, that he was aware Multiplex director Matt Stagg intended this as a final figure, knowing he would renege on it after the arch was lifted. Cursley denied this, saying he was not privy to decisions made by Multiplex management. He said: "I'm being asked to produce a valuation of £32.66m, I'm not being told why."

When asked by Tomlinson to explain the "Armageddon plan" he said: "Armageddon is not having a steelwork contractor." He then added: "There was a plan which I understand was to recover a debt which was owed while at the same time working with CBUK to find a way of going forward."

Further financial details were revealed earlier in the day when it emerged that the full cost of the steelwork package will be over £185m, three times the original budget.

Hollandia's project manager for Wembley, Kees Van Rooijen, told the court that Hollandia had so far received about £95m from Multiplex for steel erection work.

He said that the final bill would also include approximate figures of £10m for engineering, £4.7m for the moving roof, £5m for the fixed roof, £3m for purchased items and £10m for variations, a total of £127.7m.

When added to Cleveland Bridge's £60m bill, this brings Wembley's steelwork costs to £187.7m.

Van Rooijen also revealed that Hollandia's original cost-plus deal with Multiplex had now become a fixed-price arrangement for the remaining works on site, including the removal of temporary steelwork.

The case continues.