The Liverpool women’s hospital bomber phoned his brother and asked if their family would be affected if “I do something bad”, an inquest has heard. Emad al-Swealmeen bought 2,000 ball bearings and rented a “bomb-making factory” to manufacture a device with “murderous intent”, a coroner was told. Iraqi-born Swealmeen, 32, falsely claimed to be of Syrian heritage in asylum applications and was still a practising Muslim despite converting to Christianity, the hearing at Liverpool and Wirral coroner’s court was told on Thursday. The senior coroner, André Rebello, said the bomber’s brother, who is living in the US and was not named in court, had spoken to Swealmeen on 12 November, two days before he took the explosive in a taxi to the hospital on Remembrance Sunday. Rebello told the inquest: “He says towards the end of call Emad said something like ‘if I do something bad that will affect the family, what do you think?’ “He replied something like ‘don’t do shit’, advising him as an older brother, although this was something which caused him concern, knowing his previous issues.” The court heard Swealmeen had been imprisoned in the Middle East for a serious assault, and was convicted previously in Liverpool of possession of an offensive weapon. He came legally to the UK in May 2014 with a Jordanian passport and UK visa, the court heard. The inquest, which lasted about an hour, found Swealmeen died from an explosion and subsequent fire when the device detonated in the Ford Focus taxi driven by David Perry, who managed to escape after the blast, as it pulled up outside the hospital shortly before 11am on 14 November. Ball bearings were propelled forward through the vehicle. Swealmeen lived at Home Office-provided accommodation in Sutcliffe Street in the Kensington area of Liverpool, but since April had rented a self-contained flat in Rutland Avenue, a couple of miles away, where he paid the rent monthly in cash, the court was told. The inquest heard the flat was used as a “bomb-making factory”, and financial investigations showed Swealmeen had been buying materials likely to be used in the manufacture of improvised firearms or homemade explosives, including 2,000 ball bearings. Rebello recorded a narrative conclusion and said: “It is clear from the evidence even beyond the balance of probabilities this device could have only been manufactured with murderous intent, fortunately there was only one victim.” He added: “It remains unclear as to whether he intended the device to detonate when it did.” While in the UK, Swealmeen, who was born in Baghdad, converted to Christianity and was confirmed at Liverpool Cathedral. The inquest heard a Qur’an and prayer mat were found when police searched his premises. Swealmeen had been assessed under the Mental Health Act in a five-month period in 2015 and in August was prescribed medication for low mood by his GP, the hearing was told.