Afternoon:
10°c
Doctor accused of bomb plots 'works in casualty unit'
Ben Bailey10 Aug 2009
A doctor formerly accused of being involved in the London and Glasgow bomb plots is working at a hospital casualty department, it emerged today.
Mohammed Asha, who was cleared of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions following the 2007 terror bids, was working at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) in Shropshire, The Sun said.
The Government last week withdrew a long-standing attempt to deport the 28-year-old, despite previously maintaining he was a threat to national security.
According to The Sun, Dr Asha started work at the RSH last week, a few days before the Home Office dropped its deportation bid.
Nobody at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was immediately available to comment on the report and a spokesman for the Department of Health was unable to confirm his employment status.
When the deportation case was dropped, Dr Asha's solicitor said the father of one was determined to resume his career in the NHS.
Tayab Ali said: "Mohammed Asha always said he was innocent and was not a threat to national security. Now, finally, he has been entirely vindicated.
"Hopefully he can now get back to his position before June 30, which was offering help and support to people in the UK by being an NHS doctor."
He was arrested on the day of the Glasgow bomb attack, June 30 2007. At the time, he worked for the University Hospital of North Staffordshire in Stoke-on-Trent.
Dr Asha spent more than a year on remand before being cleared of conspiracy to murder and cause explosions by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court.
The Home Office deportation case against him was due to be heard by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) in October.
At a Siac bail hearing in January, lawyers for the Home Secretary said Dr Asha was a threat to national security and should be sent back to Jordan.
But the panel, chaired by Mr Justice Mitting, ruled he could be released on bail. The panel also said it was not in the public interest that he be prevented from working for the NHS.
At the hearing, the Home Office maintained Dr Asha had provided "substantial funds" to Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla, who was sentenced to 32 years in prison for conspiracy to murder.
Abdulla and Kafeel Ahmed, who died in the attacks, plotted to kill hundreds of people by planting two bombs in the West End in June 2007.
When that failed, they drove a Jeep packed with petrol bombs and gas canisters into a terminal building at Glasgow Airport.
At a court hearing, a colleague, consultant neurosurgeon Rupert Price, gave Dr Asha a glowing reference, saying he would not be surprised if Dr Asha became the best neurologist in Britain.
