My friend has no tax or mot or insurance as his car has been of the road for some time i am thinking of buyin it can i drive it home with insurance only?

No, but you can book an MOT test for it and you are then legally entitled to drive it to the MOT testing station, provided that you are insured. Once it has been tested you can then legally drive it home from the MOT testing station, providing it has not been deemed to be "unsafe to drive."