A Bradford taxi driver has been jailed for life for the "barbaric, premeditated execution" of a shopkeeper who he claimed had disrespected the Prophet Muhammad.

Tanveer Ahmed, 32, drove 200 miles to Glasgow to attack 40-year-old Asad Shah on March 24 after the popular shopkeeper had posted a series of religious videos online.

Ahmed, who did not know Mr Shah, claimed to have been offended by clips including one in which he claimed to be a prophet.

He watched a video on his mobile phone as he travelled to Glasgow on the day of the murder and was heard in a phone message to say "listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud".

Footage of the killing showed Ahmed arrive at the store at around 9pm and approach the counter, and confronting Mr Shah.

Asad Shah Credit: SWNS

The shopkeeper offered his hand to his killer but this was refused, before Ahmed removed a knife from his robes and attacked him, inflicting several blows to his head and body.

Ahmed pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year to the murder Mr Shah.

Judge Lady Rae said Ahmed had carried out a "brutal, barbaric, horrific crime" for which he had shown no remorse and even appeared proud of what he had done.

She described the calculated nature of the murder as "chilling", saying he had carried out what was in effect an "execution".

She described Mr Shah as a family, peace-loving man who went out of his way to respect people of all faiths and had been attacked in an "appalling display of merciless violence".<

She said: "Your determination to kill Mr Shah was obvious. What is so chilling is that what you did was calculated and deliberate.<

"You did not know the deceased but you decided that you had a duty to kill him."<

Following the confrontation, during which the shopkeeper was unwilling to change his views, the judge said Ahmed had carried out "what was in effect an execution".<

She said she accepted that the crime was not the result of prejudice againstthe Ahmadi community but that it was religiously motivated.<

Lady Rae said: "It's clear you are proud of what you did. You seem oblivious to the fact that you have devastated a family."<

As he was led from the dock, Ahmed raised his hand and made a pronouncement praising the Prophet Muhammad to members of his community gathered in the court.

The Shah family, who moved to Scotland from Pakistan in the 1990s to escape persecution, belong to the Ahmadi sect of Islam whose beliefs differ from the majority of Muslims.<

The court heard their belief that Prophet Muhammad was not the final prophet was a view many consider blasphemous.<

In a statement released through his lawyer after the killing, Ahmed said: "IfI had not done this others would have and there would be more killings andviolence in the world."