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A former McDonalds worker was trained by Al Qaeda to become a suicide bomber and attack Heathrow Airport , according to US court papers.

Minh Pham, who previously lived in South London's New Cross, was taught to wear a backpack containing a bomb and target passengers arriving from America and Israel in the west London airport.

The court documents also claim Pham was told to maximise the carnage by coating the bomb with metal bolts and cause as many casualties as possible.

The Muslim convert may face a life sentence on Monday (May 16), New York courts heard.

Al-Awlaki, who was said to have trained him, was later killed in a drone strike by the US military in Yemen, in September 2011.

Pham denied he planned to carry out the Heathrow bombing and claimed his violent statements were a ruse so he could leave Yemen and return to London where his family resides.