Qaisar Shaffi, Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, Junade Feroze, Zia Ul Haq, Abdul Aziz Jalil, Omar Abdur Rehman and Nadeem Tarmohamed were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court, south-east London.

Shaffi was convicted of conspiracy to murder after a month-long trial, which ended earlier this week. The other six pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.

The court was told the seven were vital to plans by Barot, jailed for 30 years after his conviction last year, to carry out attacks in Britain and the United States using explosive-packed limousines and a "dirty" radiation bomb.

Sentencing the seven men, judge Sir Alexander Butterfield said: "Barot was the instigator of this terrorist planning, he was by some considerable distance the principal participant in the conspiracy.

"Each one of you was recruited by Barot and assisted him at his request.

"Anyone who chooses to participate in such a plan ... will receive little sympathy from the courts."