Walid Saadaoui had once worked as a holiday entertainer, organising dance shows and quizzes at a resort in his native Tunisia. After moving to the UK and marrying a British woman, he became a restaurateur and an avid keeper of birds.

All the while, however – as the Guardian’s community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, explains – he was hiding a secret: he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

On Friday, Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were sentenced to life imprisonment after attempting to carry out what could have been one of the deadliest terror attacks in the UK. They had planned a devastating assault on Greater Manchester’s Jewish community. Unbeknown to them, the fellow IS supporter involved in their plot – known by the codename ‘Farouk’ – was in fact an undercover police officer.

Saadaoui’s younger brother, Bilel Saadaoui, was jailed for six years for failing to disclose information about the plan.

Osuh, who has been covering the trial, speaks to Helen Pidd about how the plot was uncovered and the impact it has had on one of the largest Jewish communities in the world.