<p><a href="https://truecrimeawards.co.uk/truecrimeawards2026/en/page/listenerschoice" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">VOTE FOR US IN THE TRUE CRIME AWARDS 2026!</a></p><p><br></p><p><a href="" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">*Warning: this episode contains descriptions of terrorist mass-casualty events, and torture *</a></p><p> </p><p>--- </p><p>These two episodes are dedicated to the memory of Dr Janet Cotterill (1968-2022) who contributed significantly to this case and to forensic linguistics more generally.  Her obituary can be found here <a href="https://iafll.org/2022/11/11/remembering-dr-janet-cotterill-1968-2022/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://iafll.org/2022/11/11/remembering-dr-janet-cotterill-1968-2022/</a></p><p>---</p><p>August 2004. Dhiren Barot, a high-value terrorist, has been arrested in London, and police need to charge or release him within four days. To charge Barot, the police needed to prove to a criminal standard that he had indeed written <em>the Gas Limos project</em>, a document that contained the plot to attack underground carparks of landmark tourist destinations across London with multiple limousines filled with gas cylinders containing explosive gases.</p><p> </p><p>In this first part, we explore Barot’s story and background. How did he get from an average upbringing in an Indian family in North London to becoming a radical Islamist authoring a plan for mass destruction?</p><p> </p><p>For a list of our sources and more information about this case, please visit <a href="https://www.aston.ac.uk/writing-wrongs" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.aston.ac.uk/writing-wrongs</a></p><p> </p><p>Have a question for Nicci or Tim? Email us at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">[email protected]</a> and we may answer it during an upcoming episode!</p><p> </p><p>Check out the official AIFL blog for more forensic linguistic goodies here: <a href="https://medium.com/@AIFLblog" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://medium.com/@AIFLblog</a></p><p> </p><p>If you have been affected by any of the themes in this week’s episode, please contact one of these free sources:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.helpguide.org/find-help" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.helpguide.org/find-help</a></p><p> </p><p><strong>Production</strong></p><p>Production Team: Mark Round, Jordan Robertson, Neus Alberich Buera, Karolina Placzynta</p><p>Sound: Mark Round</p><p>Visual design: George Grant</p><p>Editing: Nicci MacLeod</p><p>Additional voices: Professor Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, George Grant, Dr Graeme Hayes, Dr Madison Hunter, Aymun Yasin Khan </p><p><strong>Resources</strong></p><p>Professor Tim Grant’s home page: <a href="https://research.aston.ac.uk/en/persons/tim-grant" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Tim Grant - Aston Research Explorer</a></p><p> </p><p>Dr Nicci MacLeod’s home page:<strong> </strong><a href="https://research.aston.ac.uk/en/persons/nicci-macleod" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Nicci MacLeod - Aston Research Explorer</a></p><p> </p><p>Professor Jessica Woodham’s home page: <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/psychology/woodhams-jessica" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Professor Jessica Woodhams - School of Psychology - University of Birmingham</a></p><p> </p><p><strong>Research Resources </strong></p><p>Academic Sources</p><p>-              Andrew, C. (2012). <em>The defence of the realm: The authorized history of MI5</em>. Penguin UK.</p><p>-              Carlisle, D. (2007)  Dhiren Barot: Was He an Al Qaeda Mastermind or Merely a Hapless Plotter? <em>Studies in Conflict &amp; Terrorism</em>, 30:1057–1071 DOI: 10.1080/10576100701670979 </p><p>-              Grant, T.D. (2022) <em>The Idea of Progress in Forensic Authorship Analysis</em> CUP</p><p>-              Sean O’Neill and  Daniel McGrory, <em>The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and  the Finsbury Park Mosque</em>(London: Harper Perennial, 2006) </p><p> </p><p>News sources </p><p>-              Guardian 2006 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/07/usa.terrorism" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/07/usa.terrorism</a></p><p>-              Times of India 2006 - <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/2168783.cms" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/2168783.cms</a></p><p> </p><p>Other Web sources</p><p>-              US Government 9/11 Commission Report <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf</a></p><p>-              House of Commons library on pretrial detention of terrorists - <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05634/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05634/</a></p><p><br></p>