Couple convicted for plotting London attack

Mohammed Rehman tweeted about the plan he made with wife Sana Ahmed Khan under the name 'Silent Bomber'.

London: A British couple said to be of Pakistan-origin were sentenced to life in prison yesterday, a day after being found guilty of plotting a massive terror attack in London, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2005 July 7 bombings this year.

Mohammed Rehman tweeted about the plan he made with wife Sana Ahmed Khan under the name 'Silent Bomber'. Pic/AP

Mohammed Rehman, who tweeted under the name "Silent Bomber", will serve a minimum of 27 years in jail before being considered for parole. His wife Sana Ahmed Khan, who plotted to become Britain's first woman suicide bomber, will serve a minimum of 25 years behind bars.

A London court heard how the couple married in a secret ceremony because her parents did not approve of the drug-taking divorcee Rehman.

With money from Khan, the 25-year-old stockpiled chemicals needed to make a huge bomb at his family home in Reading, about an hour west of London, and even filmed himself setting off a small explosion in his back garden.

Susan Hemming, head of the UK's Crown Prosecution Service counter-terrorism division, said: "The intention to carry out some form of terrorism attack was clear from the threatening statements made in Rehman's tweets. It was these tweets that led to his and his wife's arrest."

Police began monitoring Rehman after he sent out a tweet in May, asking followers to advise him on where he should carry out a terrorist attack: "Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be appreciated greatly." In another tweet, he said: "Plus I don't need an army, all I need is my explosive vest and a beautiful area full of crowded ''''' like you LOL."