A Muslim convert who plotted to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and carry out attacks in Britain with a "dirty bomb" and gas-filled limousines has been jailed for a minimum of 40 years at a London court.

Dhiren Barot, 34, was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to murder.

"You are, Mr Barot, a determined and dedicated terrorist, a highly intelligent and extremely dangerous man," judge Neil Butterfield said as he handed down the sentence.

"This conspiracy was designed to strike at the very heart of democracy and the security of the state," the judge said.

Barot, was accused of also plotting to blow up the headquarters of Citigroup, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and Prudential in New York, Washington and Newark, New Jersey.

Gas cylinders

In Britain, Barot conceived the "Gas Limos Project", a scheme to explode three stetched limousines packed with gas cylinders in car parks underneath major buildings.

Prosecutors said he carried out reconnaissance on leading London hotels and three railway stations.

The plan was discovered in a file named Eminem2.doc on a laptop found by Pakistani police in July 2004 after they arrested Naeem Noor Khan, described by police as a major al-Qaeda figure.

Barot and seven others, who will face trial next year, were arrested the following month in Britain.

Photo Caption

Dhiren Barot