Watch an extract of Umar Islam's video

A British Muslim accused of plotting to blow up packed transatlantic flights paid tribute to Osama bin Laden and the Taleban leader Mullah Omar in a "martyrdom video" shown at his trial today.

Umar Islam also complained that the British people were too busy watching soap operas, talking about football and boozing to pay proper attention to politics.

Part of the video made by Mr Islam, 29, was released to the public after being played at the trial of the eight alleged plotters, who, the court heard, planned to use liquid explosives to blow up seven airliners.

Mr Islam's recording, and another by one of his co-defendants Arafat Khan, was discovered on a tape in the back of a car owned by Assad Sarwar, another of the alleged plotters, which was searched by police upon his arrest.

Five further recordings made were later discovered in a search of Mr Sarwar’s garage in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. One was made by Mr Khan while the others belonged to Ibrahim Savant, 27, Waheed Zaman, 23, Tanvir Hussain, 26, and Abdulla Ali, 27.

In his video, Mr Islam, formerly known as Brian Young, is seen sitting in front of a black flag with Arabic writing on and wearing a Palestinian-style checkered headscarf.

An unedited recording, lasting 18 minutes and 45 seconds, was shown to the jury at Woolwich Crown Court.

In a four-minute excerpt released to the public, he is seen justifying his plans by referring to British, American and Israeli foreign policy, saying: “We will not leave this path until you leave our lands until you feel what we are feeling. This is a revenge for the acts of the USA in the Muslim lands and their accomplices, such as the British and the Jews.”

Naming Iraq, Afghanistan and the occupied territories, and prisoners locked in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, he said: “If you want to kill our women and children then the same thing will happen to you. This is not a joke. If you think you can go into our land and do what you are doing in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine and keep on supporting those that are fighting against the Muslims and think it will not come back on to your doorstep then you have another thing coming.”

Mr Islam is also seen sending a personal message to Bin Laden, the al-Qaeda founder, and Mullah Omar, saying he had been inspired by their teachings. “Mullah Omar, Sheikh Osama - keep on going and remain firm. You inspired many of the Muslims and inspired me personally to follow the true path of the prophet,” he says.

He is also heard to warn the British public to stay away from state buildings ahead of further anticipated attacks. “You have been warned time and time again. If you do not want what happened to happen to you, then stay away from government and economic targets because, truly, they will keep on getting hit,” he said.

Mr Islam said committing attacks was “an obligation on me as a Muslim to wage jihad against the kuffar [non believers]”.

He is also heard to say in the film that innocent people deserved to die because they had not “put down” their leaders. “Most of you are too busy watching Home And Away and EastEnders, complaining about the World Cup, and drinking your alcohol, to even care about anything," he said.

In his video, timed at four minutes, which was not released to the public, Arafat Khan can be heard saying: “At the end of the day, right, innocent people are being killed.

“There is a mass war. There is a war against Islam. When they say this is a crusade, yeah, think carefully what that means and find out from history.”

At the start of the men’s trial last week, Woolwich Crown Court heard that the eight defendants shared a common interest in “inflicting heavy casualties upon an innocent civilian population, all in the name of Islam”.

The prosecution says the videos were recorded in the suspects' 'bomb factory' in east London, where it is alleged the eight suspects bought and stored explosives to be used in the operation.

Peter Wright QC, for the prosecution, told the jury that the target aircraft were destined for six American and Canadian cities: New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Montreal.

The prosecution says the key component of the bombs was a liquid hydrogen peroxide explosive carried in 500ml bottles of soft drinks. The devices would have been in hand luggage, along with detonators made from batteries and disposable cameras.

Mohammed Gulzar, Ahmed Ali, 27, Assad 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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