A British Airways worker has been found guilty of supplying an international terrorist with information about airlines, which could be used to plot a terrorist attack.

Rajib Karim, 31, who worked in their IT department in Newcastle, arrived in the UK from Bangladesh in 2006 and deliberately set out to find a job that would be useful to him to plan terror attacks.

Having found work at British Airways (BA) in April 2007, Karim kept a low profile, but in the privacy of his own home, he was busy making violent propagandist videos for proscribed terrorist organisation Jamaat -ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Throughout this period, he also worked with his younger brother Tehzeeb Karim and other associates to raise funds for JMB, al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations who were then involved in the insurgent activity in Iraq, in the border areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan and also in the Yemen.

In December 2009, Tehzeeb and two others travelled from Bangladesh to Yemen where they successfully made contact with radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, and the new division of al-Qaeda which had established itself there, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP).

Tehzeeb put al-Awlaqi in touch with his brother Rajib prompting a frank exchange of messages between the radical cleric and the BA worker, as they contemplated how they could exploit Rajib's position within the airline company to launch a terrorist attack.

Rajib volunteered information on how he could cause disruption to BA both operationally and financially, by attacking their computer servers, which he said would ground their entire fleet. He also offered to begin recruiting other people.

During the course of their correspondence, Karim told al-Awlaqi there may be an opportunity for him to train as cabin crew during an upcoming strike, which he was encouraged at once to take up. Although Karim filled out an online application form he was not eligible to join the cabin crew as he did not have five year's service.

Al-Awlaqi urged Karim to be patient, to stay in the UK while applying for his UK passport, and not to engage in any activity that would expose him to scrutiny as there was a longer term goal. He wrote: "Our highest priority is the US. Anything there even on a smaller scale compared to what we may do in the UK, would be our choice. So the question is, with the people you have, is it possible to get a package, or a person with a package on board a flight to the [US]...".

Rajib Karim was convicted on four counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act, following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

He pleaded guilty to a further three counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism, alongside terrorist fundraising and possessing a document likely to be if use to a terrorist at earlier hearings.

Karim will be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on 18 March.

(BMcN/GK)