He also denied on a number of occasions that he had possession of a coat which Noah was wearing on the day of his disappearance, and which has never been found.
The witness responded to questions about Noah’s phone which was found in a play park along the route of Noah’s final journey in north Belfast.
The barrister explained that the phone subsequently contained what’s understood to be “an accidental photo” of part of a hand.
The photo was taken within an hour of Noah’s disappearance.
The family barrister asked: “Is that your hand?”
Daryl Paul replied: “No, it’s not my hand.”
The lawyer explained that Noah’s mother Fiona made numerous efforts to ring her son in the hour after his last sighting to check on his whereabouts, as well as sending a text message.
If someone has answered the phone, the barrister said, Fiona Donohoe “would have known that her boy was in trouble”.
She then asked Paul if he had the phone at that time.
He replied: “No, I didn’t.”