Irfan Naseer and co-conspirators planned attacks that could have been more devastating than 7/7 bombings

The ringleader of a plot to carry out terror attacks in the UK, which would have been more deadly than the 7/7 bombings in 2005, has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years.

Irfan Naseer, 31, was described by a judge on Friday as the "leader, driving force and man in charge" of the terror cell in Sparkhill, Birmingham, which planned to set off eight to 10 suicide bombs and timed explosive devices in crowded places.

The other leaders of the cell, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali, both 28, were handed jail terms of 18 years and 15 years respectively. Khalid, who boasted of creating "another 9/11", was ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years, while Ali will serve 10 years before he can be considered for parole.

On the third and final day of the sentencing hearing at Woolwich crown court, London, Mr Justice Henriques told Naseer: "Clearly nothing was going to stop you, short of intervention of the authorities. I have no doubt you would have continued with your plan but for that intervention.

"Many deaths were planned by a determined team of individuals who were fully radicalised and you, Naseer, were their leader. No lack of assets, skill or manpower was going to stop you."

Henriques said Naseer's plot had the blessing of al-Qaida and was intended to further the terror organisation's aims.

The judge took into account that Khalid, who was under the influence of his "inseparable" friend Naseer, had been found to be in the bottom 2%-5% in terms of cognitive ability.

Chemistry graduate Naseer and Khalid, both from Sparkhill, had travelled to Pakistan twice for training – on the second occasion spending two months at an al-Qaida training facility in Miran Shah, north Waziristan, where they had to flee from US drone strikes.

They recruited Ali from Balsall Heath in Birmingham on their return, and began to draw others into the plot. They shared their knowledge of bomb making with Ali, who rented a council flat that became a makeshift bomb factory and the hub of the plot. The plan was to make explosives from sports-injury cold-pack treatments.

The men were, however, being watched by the police and security services, who had placed bugs in two cars and the factory.

It was the biggest counter-terror operation mounted in the UK for seven years, involving, at its peak, more than 400 officers and agents. Experts told the court the cell could have created a viable device but there was evidence that the men were struggling to get the ingredients, and no targets were identified by the police or security services.

The group tried to fund their mission by posing as Muslim Aid charity street collectors in Sparkhill, raising £14,500 within two weeks.

The cell's chief financier, Rahin Ahmed, 26, from Moseley, pleaded guilty to collecting, investing and managing money for terrorism, and assisting others to travel to Pakistan for training in terrorism.

He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and will serve at least six before he can be released on licence.

Henriques said he accepted that Ahmed was not aware of the details of the plot, but added that he had raised "money for a terrorist purpose knowing that acts of terrorism were being prepared".

Seven other men were sentenced on Thursday in connection with the plot. Bahader Ali was jailed for six years and Mohammed Rizwan and Mujahid Hussain both received four year jail terms.

Aspiring jihadists Shahid Khan, 21, Khobaib Hussain, 21, Ishaaq Hussain, 21, and Naweed Ali, 25, all from the Sparkhill area, and sent by Naseer to Pakistan for terror training in August 2011, were sentenced to 40 months each in jail.