The Old Bailey trial is expected to last five months

Prosecutor David Waters QC told the court Salahuddin Amin, from Luton, Bedfordshire, was the only one of the seven defendants to answer police questions in interview, the others declined.

The seven men all deny conspiracy to cause explosions. Four of the other defendants are from Crawley, West Sussex, one is from Horley, Surrey, and the other man from Ilford, east London.

All of the defendants were arrested at the end of March 2004, except for Mr Amin who was held on 8 February, 2005, after arriving at Heathrow from Islamabad, the court heard.

During "extensive interviews", he told police he was born and grew up in Pakistan before moving to England at the age of 16.

He returned to Pakistan in 1999/2000 and became supportive of Pakistan's struggle with India over Kashmir, Mr Waters said.

Back in Luton, Mr Amin became a student at the University of Hertfordshire and also worked as a taxi driver, the court heard.

Mr Waters said that 31-year-old Mr Amin had also begun studying Islam and prayed for two hours a day. Among visitors to his mosque in Luton was a man called Abu Munthir and members of the Crawley group.

In the summer of 2001, Mr Amin went to Pakistan for his sister's wedding and decided to "check out" a training camp, the jury heard.

'Radical follower'

In interview, Mr Amin told police at this time he was radical follower of Islam, the prosecutor told the court.

Later that year he sold his Luton home and went to live in Pakistan where he was asked to help out in supplying money and equipment to people fighting in Afghanistan, the court was told.

Another defendant in the case, 24-year-old Omar Khyam from Crawley, arrived in Pakistan in February 2003, the court heard.

Mr Amin was aware Mr Khyam wanted explosives training "in order to do something in the UK", and the pair attended a training course near Kohat.

In February 2004, Mr Khyman contacted Mr Amin to say he had 650kg of ammonium nitrate but had forgotten what to mix it with to make explosives, the court heard.

Mr Amin went to Mr Munthir to obtain the information and then told Mr Khyman, it was alleged.