An Iranian diplomat is appearing in court accused of plotting to bomb a policitcal conference, attended by a south Essex MP.

Assadollah Assadi, 48, is accused of smuggling a bomb made from 'Mother of Satan' explosives to Europe from Tehran in a diplomatic bag that was exempt from airport security checks ahead of the event.

He is on trail in Belgium from today accused of plotting to bomb a 2018 Paris conference attended by five British MPs and Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Prosecutors say he then handed the bag off to accomplices who were supposed to plant it at a summit held by Iranian opposition leaders in the French capital.

Speakers at the rally included British MPs Bob Blackman, Matthew Offord, Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, Theresa Villiers and Roger Godsiff; Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer and former New York mayor; and Bill Richardson, former US Ambassador to the UN.

Assadi, understood to be an officer in Iran's intelligence and security ministry, is the first Iranian ambassador to face terrorism charges in Europe.

Prosecutors say Assadi, 48, carried the bomb on a commercial flight from Tehran to Vienna, where he was ambassador, some time ahead of the conference which took place on June 30, 2018.

He allegedly handed the explosives to a Belgian-Iranian couple - Nassimeh Naami, 36, and Amir Saadouni, 40 - who took the bomb by car towards Paris.

However, Belgian police stopped the vehicle near Antwerp and discvoered 1lbs of TATP explosives - the same kind used in the Manchester Arena bombing - inside, along with a detonator.

The pair were arrested, while Assadi was detained later while travelling through Germany where he was not protected by diplomatic immunity.

Also on trial is Mehrdad Arefani, 57, an Iranian poet who has lived in Belgium for half a decade and is also accused of participating in the plot.

All four are charged with attempting to carry out a terrorist attack and taking part in the activity of a terrorist group, and face life sentences if convicted.