Briton who plotted to bomb NYSE has jail term cut

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) A man who plotted to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and carry out attacks in Britain with gas-filled limousines and a ''dirty bomb'' had his 40-year prison sentence reduced to 30 years today.

A High Court judge ruled Dhiren Barot, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to murder in a case sparked by the arrest of an al Qaeda figure in Pakistan, should not be considered for release from jail until 2036 at the earliest.

Barot, a Muslim convert, was accused of plotting to blow up the headquarters of the New York Stock Exchange, Citigroup, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and Prudential in New York, Washington and Newark, New Jersey.

After the attacks on the U S on Sept. 11, 2001, Barot switched his attention to attacks on Britain centring on a scheme to blow up three limousines packed with gas cylinders in car parks underneath major buildings.

The trial judge said his plans could have caused ''carnage and butchery...on a colossal and unprecedented scale''.

Judge Lord Phillips said in today's ruling that Barot had plotted ''mass murder of innocent citizens''. Despite this, a 40-year jail term was too harsh, he said.

''We have reached the conclusion that the appropriate minimum term that the appellant should serve before being considered for release on licence is 30 years,'' he said.

Four young British Muslims blew themselves up on July 7, 2005, killing 52 people in London, the first suicide attacks by Islamist militants in western Europe.

REUTERS ABM HT1630