Man who brought bomb terror to Glasgow faces 32 years in jail

Published on Wednesday 17 December 2008 21:53

AN NHS doctor who planned to murder and maim hundreds of people in terrorist attacks in Glasgow and London will serve at least 32 years in prison.

Dr Bilal Abdulla showed no emotion as Mr Justice Mackay branded him a "religious extremist and bigot" who held the most "perverted" and "distorted" Islamist views.

Sentencing Abdulla to two life terms, the judge told him he had squandered his privileged upbringing and professional career to wage war on ordinary Britons.

"Many people felt and still feel strong opposition to the invasion of Iraq. You do; you are sincere in that and you have strong reasons for holding that view," Mr Justice Mackay told the 29-year-old.

"But you were born with intelligence and you were born into a privileged and well-to-do position in Iraq and you are a trained doctor."

The judge said Abdulla's radical religious and political beliefs meant he continued to be a danger to the British public.

The Iraqi national, who was born in Britain, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and cause explosions. His close friend, Jordanian neurologist Dr Mohammed Asha, 28, was acquitted of the same charges.

Abdulla, who worked as a junior doctor at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, drove one of two home-made car bombs, a Mercedes packed with gas cylinders, petrol and nails, into London's West End last summer.

His accomplice, Indian PhD engineering student Kafeel Ahmed, parked the second vehicle at a nearby bus stop. However, their bombs failed because of loose electrical connections and the smothering effect of the thick gas and petrol fumes.

The next day, they launched a desperate suicide attack on Glasgow Airport in a Jeep loaded with gas cylinders and petrol. Ahmed died as a result of injuries sustained in the attack.

Mr Justice Mackay said the jury was convinced that Abdulla and Ahmed wanted to murder people on an "indiscriminate basis".

He said: "The Glasgow attack, like the failed London attack before it, was an attempt to cause death and injury to large numbers of innocent people.

"There were hundreds of people there; men, women, young children, people in wheelchairs, a clutter of luggage.

"It does not bear thinking about."

Reacting to the sentence, Jim Murphy, Secretary of State for Scotland, said: "The attack on Glasgow was a shocking and stark reminder of the danger extremism poses to our society and brought home the scope of the challenge we face in protecting the public and our way of life."

Mr Justice Mackay said yesterday that breaches by police who interviewed Dr Asha could have led to vital evidence being excluded from the trial.

Officers were accused of failing to grant the neurologist access to legal advice and falsely implying they had evidence against him.

Dr Asha has lodged an appeal against his planned deportation to Jordan, and might sue the Home Office or police, his solicitor, Tayab Ali, said.