London:
Three British Muslims were on Monday sentenced to life for conspiring to kill thousands of people by blowing up transatlantic airliners with liquid bombs in a plot that was "controlled, monitored and funded from Pakistan".
Judge Richard Henriques sentenced Pakistani-origin Abdulla Ahmed Ali (28), Tanvir Hussain (28) and Assad Sarwar (29) after finding them guilty of conspiring to activate bombs disguised as soft drinks in suicide attacks on the scale of 9/11.
At the top-security Woolwich Crown court in southeast London, Judge Henriques said the plot was "the most grave and wicked conspiracy ever proven within this jurisdiction" as he passed the verdict.
Ringleader Ali was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum 40-year term whereas Sarwar and Hussian were sentenced to 36 years and 32 years behind bars respectively.
The judge said a trail of emails proved that the ultimate control of the conspiracy lay in Pakistan and the plot was controlled, monitored and funded from there.
The plot, foiled in August 2006, and the arrests of men's in same year led to widespread airport restrictions on liquids in hand luggage.
The plotters targeted seven flights from London's Heathrow airport to Washington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Montreal.