Times Online : Al-Qaeda plotter sentenced to life

Al-Qaeda plotter sentenced to life

By Adam Fresco | November 7, 2006

A British al-Qaeda terrorist who planned to carry out a series of explosions at prestigious London hotels and mainline stations, killing thousands of people, was jailed for life today.

Muslim convert Dhiren Barot, 34, who admitted planning "back-to-back" attacks on London and also planned to attack iconic buildings in America, was told by a judge at Woolwich Crown Court that he would serve a minimum of 40 years before he would be considered for release.

Judge Mr Justice Butterfield said Barot’s plans would have caused carnage on a "colossal and unprecedented scale" if successful.

He told Barot: "This was no noble cause. Your plans were to bring indiscriminate carnage, bloodshed and butchery first in Washington, New York and Newark, and thereafter the UK on a colossal and unprecedented scale."

He added: "Your intention was not simply to cause damage, panic or fear. Your intention was to murder, but it went further. It was designed to strike at the very heart of democracy and the security of the state.

"And if successful, would have affected thousands personally, millions indirectly and ultimately the whole nation of the US and the UK."

As the judge finished speaking Barot, wearing a khaki zip-up cardigan, black shirt and white t-shirt, picked up a stack of papers and marched out of the dock to the cells, all the while staring angrily at the bench.

The court had earlier heard how Barot plotted terror atrocities on the eastern seaboard of the United States and in Britain using explosive-packed limousines and a dirty bomb.

The judge told Barot that if he had been passing a determinate sentence it would have been 80 years, but as he had passed a life sentence the tariff he attached was half that, a minimum of 40 years in jail before he can be considered for release.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said: "By his own admission Barot wanted to commit mass murder on both sides of the Atlantic. He was the leader of the plot. If he had succeeded, hundreds if not thousands could have died.

"His plans to set off a dirty bomb in this country could have caused widespread fear, panic and disruption.

"Barot was a determined and experienced terrorist. He went to terrorist training camps in 1995, long before 9/11, or the invasions of Afghanistan or Iraq. He is not someone who has recently been attracted to the terrorist cause.

"He is a full-time terrorist. His training showed through. He used anti-surveillance, coded messages and secret meetings, but he could not evade capture. He was stopped before he could attack the British and American people. As always, our concern for public safety was paramount.

"I cannot praise highly enough everyone who has been involved in this case for their tireless and skilful work in bringing Barot to justice. His arrest and conviction will be seen as a landmark in the fight against terrorism in the United Kingdom

"For well over two years we have been unable to show the British public the reality of the threat they faced from this man. Now they can see for themselves the full horror of his plans."

John Reid, the Home Secretary, said: "The nature and severity of today’s sentence shows that the terrorist threat remains very real and serious.

"This individual pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder people in the UK and the United States through a series of bomb attacks.

"His case highlights the extraordinary investigative work that is undertaken and shows the importance of ensuring that the police are provided with all the tools they need to counter the continuing threat.

"We owe a tremendous debt to the police and intelligence agencies. They work extremely hard to protect us and I want to offer my thanks to them for their continuing efforts."

In court, Mr Justice Butterfield said Barot was a member or close associate of the al-Qaeda organisation.

The judge told Barot: "You have devoted most of your adult life to seeking means to bring death and destruction ... for reasons which I do not begin to understand you decided that you should use the life that you have been given in order to end the lives of others."

The judge said: "There will be those who think that you should be kept in prison for the rest of your life. They may say you showed no mercy to the innocent people...

"I understand that reaction of course... but I draw back from that."

He said he took into consideration the 34-year-old’s guilty plea - albeit two years and three months after his arrest and with his trial just weeks away.

He said that Barot, in the event, had not achieved any of his terror goals and that, on the evidence, he had not "moved to the final stages of achieving them".

But he added that this was no thanks to him.

Mr Justice Butterfield told him that the two years and 94 days he had already spent on remand would be taken into consideration and added: "If ever you are released you will be on licence for the rest of your life.

"Let the defendant go down."

The judge dealt first with Barot’s plans for terrorist attacks on five key financial institutions in New York, Washington and Newark in the United States.

Barot carried out reconnaissance for the plans before the 9/11 atrocity in which New York’s twin towers were destroyed.

The judge told Barot: "Had it not been for the dreadful events of September 11, 2001, I have little doubt that one or more of those proposals would have become a dreadful reality."

The 9/11 attacks having occurred, Barot turned his attention to the UK, the judge said. The former north London schoolboy had carried out "substantial research" for his plan, named the Gas Limos Project.

At some point, his plans were put before his "al-Qaeda overlords". Targets were identified and shopping lists for the equipment required were prepared.

Mr Justice Butterfield said that Barot’s conduct while under surveillance suggested his continuing involvement in nefarious activities associated with "his lifelong wish to cause explosions".

"It was only a matter of time before the grim reality of your plans took effect," the judge said. "It is impossible to convey in a few words the gravity of what you hoped to achieve."