Beheading plot leader gets life sentence

LONDON (Reuters) - The ringleader of a plot to behead a Muslim soldier in the British army "like a pig" and release a video of the murder to the media was jailed for at least 14 years on Monday.

Parviz Khan, 37, was described in court as a violent Islamic extremist who wanted to spread panic among the armed forces and the wider public.

Prosecutors said the British and Pakistani passport holder was angry that Muslims were serving in the British army, which militants portray as fighting Islam in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The father-of-three pleaded guilty last month to charges including the beheading plot, which was foiled by police and the MI5 security service a year ago.

Khan also admitted sending equipment such as night-vision cameras, balaclavas and computers to Pakistan to be used by militants fighting U.S. and British troops in Afghanistan.

During the trial in Leicester, prosecutor Nigel Rumfitt said Khan was "a man who has the most violent and extreme Islamist views".

The British security services bugged Khan talking about the plot, saying "young Blair is going to go crazy", a reference to the then prime minister Tony Blair.

Khan planned to enlist drug dealers to help kidnap a Muslim soldier on a night out in Birmingham.

The victim was to be seized, bundled into a car and taken to a lock-up garage.