A hearing in the case of a former Shropshire doctor charged over the failed bombings in London and Glasgow took place at the Old Bailey today.

Mohammed Asha, 26, was due to appear in court along with Bilal Abdullah, 27, via video-link from Belmarsh Prison, accused of conspiracy to cause explosions. But a technical problem meant this was not possible.

Instead a preliminary hearing went ahead in their absence with a full transcript of the hearing provided for the defendants.

Abdullah, an Iraqi, was arrested after a burning Jeep was driven into the doors of the arrivals hall of Glasgow Airport on June 30.

Asha, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, was arrested on the M6 motorway near Sandbach in Cheshire later that day.

Asha worked as a junior doctor at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital until August last year. It is believed he also worked at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford during that period.

The day before his arrest police discovered two cars laden with gas canisters and fuel parked in central London. The men are accused of conspiring between January 1 and July 1 to cause explosions “of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury”.

The charge against Asha names his co-conspirators as Abdullah and Kafeel Ahmed, who remains critically ill with severe burns after being arrested at Glasgow Airport on June 30. The case was adjourned until September 10.

Meanwhile, Australia’s top prosecutor Damian Bugg has dropped a terror charge against Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef who was accused of supporting last month’s failed attacks.