Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

16 December 2008

DOCTOR BILAL ABDULLA GUILTY OF LONDON AND GLASGOW BOMB PLOT

Bilal Abdulla was today found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of conspiracy to murder and cause explosions. Co-accused Mohammed Asha was acquitted of both charges.

After the verdict Scott Pattison, Director of Operations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said:

"Bilal Abdulla has today been convicted of the most appalling acts of terrorism, with the clear and immediate potential to cause large scale loss of life in both London and Glasgow.

"Authorities across the UK will continue to work together, sharing information, and working across jurisdictions, to ensure that all of our communities are protected from people who plan and seek to carry out mass atrocities with no regard for the sanctity of human life.

"Strathclyde Police and the Metropolitan Police worked together on this investigation from day 1; gathering and safeguarding all of the available evidence. Officers from both forces have shown tremendous professionalism throughout; and special tribute is due to those officers, in Glasgow and London, who attended at the scenes of crime on the day and took immediate action to safeguard lives.

"We owe a debt of considerable gratitude to our colleagues in the CPS who prepared a professional and compelling prosecution case to bring before the jury. CPS prosecutors had our full support and assistance throughout all stages of the trial preparation, and during the trial itself; with Scottish prosecutors in Court each day of the trial. We have been impressed with their commitment to ensuring that the complete picture of the criminality in this case, across Scotland and England, was presented to the jury.

"Our primary concern was not where the prosecution took place, but that the accused were tried before a jury for these appalling acts."

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