Oscar Pistorius denies treating girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp "badly"

Oscar Pistorius has insisted to the High Court in Pretoria that he never treated girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp "badly" during their relationship.

The 27-year-old is accused of murdering the South African model, whom he shot dead through a bathroom door at his home on Valentine's Day last year.

The double amputee took to the witness stand for the fourth time to be cross-examined by prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who sifted through messages exchanged between the couple through phone service Whatsapp.

Nel claimed that a number of messages, including one which revealed that Pistorius had asked Steenkamp to stop chewing gum, showed that the athlete had disregarded her feelings.

Pistorius responded in court by saying: "I didn't treat her badly."

Asked by Nel if his girlfriend had been untruthful about how much Pistorius picked on her, the sportsman replied: "She never lied."

The prosecution also read out a message in court from Steenkamp, responding to accusations from Pistorius that she flirted with another man at a party.

Pistorius denies murder by maintaining that he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder when he fired the shots.