The leader of a terrorist plot to blow up transatlantic airliners in mid-flight was a shadowy figure who came to Britain with his new wife posing as an Islamic missionary, a court was told.

Mohammed Gulzar entered the country on a false South African passport, apparently triggering an acceleration of the terror cell’s preparations for the attack. Two days after his arrival the gang paid £138,000 cash for the flat that became its “bomb factory” and began acquiring bombmaking materials, recruiting suicide bombers and recording “martyrdom” videos.

Mr Gulzar, 26, lived a spartan existence in an unfurnished house in East London, and held clandestine meetings with other members of the cell. Woolwich Crown Court was told that he was not one of those who would have died in the suicide attacks on seven aircraft carrying 2,000 people between Heathrow and North American cities.

“Mr Gulzar is a shadowy figure in this conspiracy,” Peter Wright, QC, for the prosecution, told the jury.

“No suicide video or martyrdom tape has been found containing any declaration by this man. There is no evidence of his direct connection to, or attendance at, 386a Forest Road \, the bomb factory. No reference was made to him in conversations in respect of those who were willing to carry improvised explosive devices on to aircraft.

“There is no connection between Mr Gulzar and the vast majority of the footsoldiers in this plot. Mr Gulzar was no ordinary footsoldier. He was a senior figure within the plot and that is reflected in his conduct, his arrival in the UK and his meetings.”

Police found Mr Gulzar living in one room of an otherwise empty house at Priory Road, Barking, and arrested him on August 9, 2006. He told officers that his name was Altaf Ravat. He had a South African passport and identity papers in that name.

Two days later the results of fingerprint examination showed that he was Mohammed Yasar Gulzar, a British citizen. Further investigations, Mr Wright said, unravelled his pivotal position in the airline plot. Mr Gulzar left South Africa on July 15, 2006, and flew to Mauritius with his new wife, Zorra Siddique. The couple then flew to London on July 18. Two days later the “bomb factory” was bought.

Mr Gulzar failed to use his return ticket for August 1 and did not accompany Ms Siddique when she flew to Belgium on August 9. He was observed by surveillance officers living alone and meeting Assad Sarwar and Abdulla Ahmed Ali, alleged to be the other key plotters. After his arrest he told police that he and his wife were spreading the Islamic faith as members of the ultra-orthodox Tablighi Jamaat missionary organisation.

Mr Wright said: “His arrival as a newlywed with his wife was little more than cover for some ulterior reason. We submit that the pressing reason for his arrival, and his ulterior purpose in remaining and liaising with both Ali and Sarwar, was his involvement as a senior figure in this plot to blow up transatlantic aircraft.”A search of the house where Mr Gulzar was living uncovered several mobile telephones. One had just two numbers stored — for Mr Sarwar and a Pakistani number listed only as B.

After Mr Gulzar’s arrival, the three main conspirators frequently used international dialling cards and public telephones to contact each other and people in Pakistan. When they met, they did so in open spaces to try to reduce the possibility of someone listening in on their conversations.

Among his belongings, Mr Gulzar had a collection of extremist material including a video entitled “Top 20 Sniper Shots” — depicting sniper attacks on US forces in Iraq — a song entitled I am a Terrorist and images of Osama bin Laden superimposed on pictures of the London Underground.

Mr Wright said Mr Gulzar, Mr Ali and Mr Sarwar were the most senior figures in the conspiracy, but the other five defendants also had crucial roles.Mr Gulzar, Mr Ali, 27, Mr Sarwar, 27, Tanvir Hussain, 26, Ibrahim Savant, 27, Arafat Khan, 26, Waheed Zaman, 23 and Umar Islam, 29, deny charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion on an aircraft. The trial continues.

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