Doctor Charged Over Car Bombs Says Loves England

Mohammed Asha denies involvement in the attacks in which a Jeep packed with gas canisteres rammed into Glasgow airport`s terminal.

A Jordanian doctor accused of conspiring to kill hundreds of people in car bomb attacks in London and Scotland said on Friday he loved England and was dedicated to his medical training.

Mohammed Asha, 28, denies any involvement in the attacks in which a Jeep packed with gas and petrol canisters rammed into Glasgow airport's terminal building in June last year.

The dramatic assault came a day after two cars also packed with fuel containers, gas canisters and nails were left outside a busy nightclub in central London.

Asha's lawyer Stephen Kamlish told Woolwich Crown Court the prosecution case against his client was "pure speculation" and said there was no evidence pointing to his guilt, the Press Association reported.

At the time of his arrest Asha was working on the neurology ward of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire in the English Midlands.

"The profile of being that kind of doctor, no ordinary doctor you will hear, and the profile of being a terrorist who commits mass murder just does not work," Kamlish said.

Asha told the jury of his admiration for the state-funded National Health System.

"I know people have complaints about the NHS but, take it from me, it is a great system.

"I love the country here, I love the way people treat each other here, especially medical training."

Asha was speaking in his defence for the first time in the six-week trial.

"I would never jeopardise my family or my wife for anything in the world," he said.

Asha had met Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla, one of the two occupants of the Glasgow Jeep, through a friend while living in Cambridge, the court heard.

Abdulla subsequently introduced Asha to the driver of the Jeep, Indian student Kafeel Ahmed, who died from burns sustained in the assault.

Asha and Abdulla deny charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions. The trial continues.