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.

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