A former Taliban fighter who ran a "recruitment centre" for homegrown extremists to go to fight in Afghanistan has lost an appeal against his conviction.

Three judges at the court of appeal in London rejected a challenge brought by Munir Farooqi, who was given four life sentences in September 2011 at Manchester crown court.

Farooqi, of Longsight, Manchester, was at the centre of a plot to radicalise and persuade vulnerable young men to "fight, kill and die" in a jihad in Afghanistan.

He was captured in a police sting when two undercover anti-terrorism officers infiltrated his group wearing secret bugging devices.

Farooqi was told he must serve a minimum of nine years before he can be considered for parole after being convicted of preparing for acts of terrorism, three counts of soliciting to murder and one count of dissemination of terrorist publications, following a four-month trial.

His appeal was dismissed on Monday by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, Lord Justice Treacy and Mrs Justice Sharp.

Farooqi, who is in his 50s, ran an Islamic book stall at Longsight market with the help of co-defendants Matthew Newton and Israr Malik.

The appeal judges also rejected conviction challenges by Newton and Malik.

They also threw out sentence appeals by Farooqi and Malik.

Muslim convert Newton, a former estate agent, and petty crook Malik both became involved in the plan to radicalise and recruit the officers.

Malik, of Fallowfield, Manchester, was convicted of preparing for acts of terrorism and two counts of soliciting to murder.

He was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection and told he must serve a minimum of five years before parole is considered but will only be released if he is deemed no longer a danger to the public.

Newton, of Levenshulme, Manchester, was convicted of preparing for acts of terrorism and two counts of dissemination of terrorist publications and was jailed for six years.

Farooqi was inspired to go to Afghanistan after the allied invasion that followed the September 11 terror attacks. He joined the Taliban as an "active terrorist" but was captured and jailed in November 2001.

By May 2002 he was released by the authorities in Pakistan and headed back to Manchester where he turned the family four-bedroom home into a "production centre" for propaganda, with a collection of 50,000 extremist books, DVDs and CDs.