A former Shropshire doctor used his profession as a “disguise” so he could work as a terrorist to plan car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow, a court heard.

Mohammed Asha, who worked at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for 12 months, played a “less visible” role in the two failed London attacks and the third attack on Glasgow Airport.

Mr Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, told Woolwich Crown Court that Asha and Bilal Abdulla used their medical professions as a disguise for their real intention of re-igniting the terror of July 2005.

The two men are accused of conspiracy to murder and to cause explosions. They both deny the charges.

Mr Laidlaw suggested how the recent Mumbai atrocities were an example of how terrorist tactics are constantly changing.

At the end of the eight-week trial, Mr Laidlaw said the jury may feel people who dedicate themselves to “saving life and averting suffering” could never be terrorists.

He said: “That would have been an argument that all of us would have found extremely attractive before this case began. Frankly who would have believed that doctors would involve themselves in this sort of murderous activity on the streets of this country?

“Seeking to blow people up, seeking to inflict the sort of carnage, scenes of terror and panic and confusion that we saw in our city in 2005, that we have seen very recently on TV elsewhere in the world.

“This case demonstrates, does it not, along with the change of tactics employed by terrorists elsewhere, that nothing can be taken for granted when you are dealing with extremists of this sort.

“There is no longer a conventional approach to terrorism. There are no rules to be broken any more, nothing can be taken for granted as terrorists and organisations employed in terrorism seek different ways of carrying out these sorts of atrocities.”

Mr Laidlaw said Asha was a backroom figure in the plot and the fact he worked hard was not a defence.

He added: “Your profession, the sort of work you do, be it a doctor or any other sort of work, counts for nothing.”

A third man included in the “terror cell” – Kafeel Ahmed – died from his injuries weeks after he drove a Jeep into the main terminal entrance of Glasgow Airport.

The trial continues.