Jury hears 'suicide recordings'

The group of eight deny conspiring to blow up aircraft

A jury has heard recordings in which one of eight men accused of an aircraft bomb plot is alleged to be showing another how to present a suicide video.

Woolwich Crown Court heard the bugged conversations took place at an east London flat the prosecution claims the men used as their bomb factory in 2006.

The jury heard that the man said in the recordings: "Don't try and speak posh English... give a bit of aggression."

The British men deny conspiring to murder and endangering planes.

'Suicide rehearsal'

It is claimed they planned to make hydrogen peroxide liquid bombs disguised as soft drinks to detonate in mid-air on at least seven passenger planes flying out of Heathrow Airport.

The prosecution said the surveillance recordings were made when two of the defendants, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, and Umar Islam, 29, were inside the alleged bomb factory.

A man, said to be Mr Ali, tells the other man to relax.

"Don't try and speak posh English... give a bit of aggression", he says.

There follows a long section where a man who calls himself Umar Islam is allegedly recording or rehearsing a suicide video which was found by police.

'Give it some'

The man later says: "How did I do?". The other voice on the tape replies "OK", but suggests that he emphasises his performance when he talks about martyrdom operations.

"You give it some," he says.

The jury has heard the conversations were picked up by an undercover recording device planted in the top-floor flat in Walthamstow, which prosecutors say was used as a bomb factory in July 2006.

The defendants are Assad Sarwar, 24, of High Wycombe, Bucks, Tanvir Hussain, 27, of Leyton, east London, and Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, Waheed Zaman, 23, and Arafat Waheed Khan, 26, all of Walthamstow, east London.

Also charged are Mohammed Gulzar, 26, of Barking, east London, Ibrahim Savant, 27, of Stoke Newington, north London, and Umar Islam, 29, of Plaistow, east London.

The trial continues.