A suspected al-Qaida cell leader was today convicted of conspiring to commit murder in connection with the September 11 attacks in the United States and sentenced to 15 years in jail by a Spanish court, while two other suspects were acquitted.

The suspected financial mastermind of an al-Qaida cell accused of helping plot the September 11 attacks depicted himself today as a legitimate businessman and moderate Muslim who once argued angrily with associates over what constituted grounds for holy war.

A co-defendant told police that a key al-Qaida suspect – who earlier this week called himself a peace-loving moderate Muslim – is a radical who recruited men for “holy war” training in Afghanistan, according to testimony read to a Madrid court today.

A terror suspect who allegedly shot detailed video footage of the World Trade Centre – images described by a Spanish judge as the genesis of the September 11 plots – took the stand today at the trial of an al-Qaida cell accused of helping to plot the suicide airliner attacks.