The bank official charged with the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery in Belfast made last minute changes to the rota of staff who had a key to the vault to put himself on duty on the day, the opening day of his trial was told today. Christopher Ward, 26, went on trial at Belfast Crown Court charged with the robbery in December 2004, which at the time was the biggest in British banking history. He also faced two charges of falsely imprisoning a fellow keyholder and his wife. Ward, of Colinmill in Poleglass on the western outskirts of Belfast, denies all charges. But opening the case for the prosecution, Gordon Kerr QC, said the robbery was a highly organised crime by a gang which had good inside knowledge. Mr Kerr said: ``Based on the proper inference that the robbers displayed a degree of knowledge which is only consistent with them having a high degree of inside knowledge, it will be submitted that the facts as established in relation to the defendant's role are such as to show to the requisite standard that they exclude the reasonable possibility of an innocent explanation and that taken as a whole they show that the defendant was a party to and complicit in the robbery.'' The court was told Ward was in charge of drawing up the rota and made changes late on a Friday afternoon to put himself on duty on the late shift the following Monday with a senior keyholder manager in the Cash Centre who also made a swap to help out a colleague. Mr Kerr said the colleague, Kevin McMullan and his wife Kyran had no children, lived in house in the Co Down countryside which was detached, easy to observe and to guard. The gang kidnapped Mrs McMullan before ordering her husband to go to work. Mr Kerr said: ``It is clear from the evidence to be given by the McMullans that the robbers knew a considerable amount about them and their situation. This suggests, we would submit, a considerable degree of inside knowledge'' . He added: ``Knowing who the keyholders were and the rota was an essential prerequisite of successfully launching the robbery in the way it was, clearly planned some time in advance.'' The case was adjourned until tomorrow.