7/7 accused 'would fight British'

Waheed Ali: Denies conspiring with bombers

A man accused of helping the 7 July 2005 suicide bombers has told a court that he had been prepared to fight British troops in Afghanistan.

Waheed Ali, 25, of Leeds, said he saw it as his religious duty to liberate a Muslim land - but that was not the same as "putting on a rucksack in London".

During cross-examination, he said he was not stupid enough to be part of the plot and then remain in the UK.

Mr Ali and two others deny scouting for targets in London during December 2004.

Starting his third day in the witness box at Kingston Crown Court, Mr Ali told prosecutor Neil Flewitt QC that he stood by his beliefs that Muslims were under an obligation to liberate any occupied Islamic land.

If I agreed with them, I would have been there on 7/7 with the brothers, with a rucksack on my back - I would have killed hundreds Waheed Ali

He said this included, if necessary, fighting against British and US forces in Afghanistan because they had overthrown the country's Islamic regime in 2001.

He had already told the court that he had received military training in Pakistan and Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks.

Mr Flewitt asked if he had been prepared to attack British military bases in Afghanistan.

"If I got down to fighting, I would have gone wherever my emir [commander] sent me," he told the court.

"And what if there were civilian staff at the base?" asked Mr Flewitt.

"If they get killed, well that's collateral damage in a military situation. It's not like I'm coming to London and putting a rucksack on my back."

'Shared ideology'

Mr Flewitt accused Mr Ali, a close friend of bomber Shehzad Tanweer, of sharing an ideology of killing innocent people.

Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil also deny the charge

But Mr Ali said that he followed the examples set out in the Koran, which limited what could be considered legitimate acts of warfare. He disagreed with the views of his friends, he said.

"If I agreed with them, I would have been there on 7/7 with the brothers, with a rucksack on my back. If I agreed I would have killed hundreds," said Mr Ali angrily.

"They didn't stop them, they wouldn't have stopped me. Not your MI5, not your MI6, not nobody."

Mr Ali denounced the prosecution, saying nobody would scout for targets using their own mobile phones and cars. In his area of Leeds he could quickly obtain stolen cars and be untraceable, he said.

"Do you really think I would do hostile reconnaissance for them and stay in this country? Do you really think that I'm that stupid - it's the worst reconnaissance in history," he said.

Waheed Ali, Mohammed Shakil and Sadeer Saleem, all originally of Leeds, deny conspiracy to cause an explosion. The trial continues.