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| Version 21 | Version 22 |
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| Three guilty of airline bomb plot | Three guilty of airline bomb plot |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Three men have been found guilty of plotting to kill thousands of people by blowing up planes flying from London to America with home-made liquid bombs. | Three men have been found guilty of plotting to kill thousands of people by blowing up planes flying from London to America with home-made liquid bombs. |
| A Woolwich Crown Court jury convicted Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Tanvir Hussain, 28, and Assad Sarwar, 29, of conspiring to activate bombs disguised as drinks. | A Woolwich Crown Court jury convicted Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Tanvir Hussain, 28, and Assad Sarwar, 29, of conspiring to activate bombs disguised as drinks. |
| Four other men were found not guilty of involvement in the suicide bomb plot. | Four other men were found not guilty of involvement in the suicide bomb plot. |
| The men's arrests in August 2006 led to new airport restrictions on liquids and brought chaos to travellers. | The men's arrests in August 2006 led to new airport restrictions on liquids and brought chaos to travellers. |
| The jury heard that at the time of his arrest, plot ringleader Ahmed Ali had identified seven US and Canada-bound flights to blow up over the Atlantic within a two-and-a-half-hour period. | The jury heard that at the time of his arrest, plot ringleader Ahmed Ali had identified seven US and Canada-bound flights to blow up over the Atlantic within a two-and-a-half-hour period. |
| They were flights from London's Heathrow airport to San Francisco, Washington, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Montreal. | They were flights from London's Heathrow airport to San Francisco, Washington, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Montreal. |
| His so-called "quartermaster", Sarwar, had secured bomb ingredients at his home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and a flat in the Walthamstow area of east London had become the bomb factory. | His so-called "quartermaster", Sarwar, had secured bomb ingredients at his home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and a flat in the Walthamstow area of east London had become the bomb factory. |
| There the men put together a special mixture of chemicals that they planned to take onto planes in ordinary sports drinks bottles stored within hand luggage. | |
| This was a calculated and sophisticated plot to create a terrorist event of global proportions Sue Hemming Crown Prosecution Service Liquid bomb plot: what happened The e-mails sent by the bombers Airline trial: The verdicts | This was a calculated and sophisticated plot to create a terrorist event of global proportions Sue Hemming Crown Prosecution Service Liquid bomb plot: what happened The e-mails sent by the bombers Airline trial: The verdicts |
| Ahmed Ali, of Walthamstow, Hussain, of Leyton, east London, and Sarwar had been found guilty previously of a conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs. | Ahmed Ali, of Walthamstow, Hussain, of Leyton, east London, and Sarwar had been found guilty previously of a conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs. |
| But the jury in that first trial could not decide whether their plans extended to detonating the devices on planes. Now a second jury has decided that such a scheme did exist. | But the jury in that first trial could not decide whether their plans extended to detonating the devices on planes. Now a second jury has decided that such a scheme did exist. |
| The plot is believed by intelligence sources to have been directed by al-Qaeda. The BBC understands that the key contact for the plotters in Pakistan was a British man, Rashid Rauf. He was reported to have been killed in November 2008 by a US missile strike against militants in Pakistan. | |
| 'Daring plot' | 'Daring plot' |
| With thousands killed in the air, the explosions could have caused more devastation than the September 11 attacks on the US. | With thousands killed in the air, the explosions could have caused more devastation than the September 11 attacks on the US. |
| Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the plot had sparked the largest counter-terrorism investigation in UK history, known as Operation Overt. | Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the plot had sparked the largest counter-terrorism investigation in UK history, known as Operation Overt. |
| "This case reaffirms that we face a real and serious threat from terrorism," he said. | "This case reaffirms that we face a real and serious threat from terrorism," he said. |
| "This was a particularly complex and daring plot which would have led to a terrible attack resulting in major loss of life. | "This was a particularly complex and daring plot which would have led to a terrible attack resulting in major loss of life. |
| "The police, security services and CPS have done an excellent job in bringing these people to justice." | "The police, security services and CPS have done an excellent job in bringing these people to justice." |
| We moved in at the time that we felt that the risks were too great John McDowell Head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command In profile: The bomb plotters | We moved in at the time that we felt that the risks were too great John McDowell Head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command In profile: The bomb plotters |
| Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it had been "a calculated and sophisticated plot to create a terrorist event of global proportions". | Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it had been "a calculated and sophisticated plot to create a terrorist event of global proportions". |
| "The CPS is committed to prosecuting to the full extent of the law those who would use terror to try to achieve their aims, whatever their motivation and their perceived justification," she added. | "The CPS is committed to prosecuting to the full extent of the law those who would use terror to try to achieve their aims, whatever their motivation and their perceived justification," she added. |
| "This trial has been another demonstration of that commitment." | "This trial has been another demonstration of that commitment." |
| Ibrahim Savant, 28, Arafat Khan, 28, Waheed Zaman, 25, and Donald Stewart-Whyte, 23, were all found not guilty of conspiring to murder by blowing up planes. | Ibrahim Savant, 28, Arafat Khan, 28, Waheed Zaman, 25, and Donald Stewart-Whyte, 23, were all found not guilty of conspiring to murder by blowing up planes. |
| Mr Stewart-Whyte, from High Wycombe, was also cleared of a general charge of conspiracy to murder. | Mr Stewart-Whyte, from High Wycombe, was also cleared of a general charge of conspiracy to murder. |
| The jury failed to reach verdicts on general conspiracy to murder charges against Mr Savant, from Stoke Newington, east London, and Mr Khan and Mr Zaman, both from Walthamstow. | The jury failed to reach verdicts on general conspiracy to murder charges against Mr Savant, from Stoke Newington, east London, and Mr Khan and Mr Zaman, both from Walthamstow. |
| An eighth man, Umar Islam, 31, from Plaistow, east London, was convicted of conspiracy to murder, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on whether he was involved in a plot to blow up aircraft. | An eighth man, Umar Islam, 31, from Plaistow, east London, was convicted of conspiracy to murder, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on whether he was involved in a plot to blow up aircraft. |
| 'Political stunt' | 'Political stunt' |
| Police installed a hidden camera in the Walthamstow flat used as a bomb factory and saw both Ahmed Ali and Hussain recording jihadist suicide videos denouncing the West. | Police installed a hidden camera in the Walthamstow flat used as a bomb factory and saw both Ahmed Ali and Hussain recording jihadist suicide videos denouncing the West. |
| In his, Ahmed Ali warned the British public to expect "floods of martyr operations" that would leave body parts scattered in the streets. | In his, Ahmed Ali warned the British public to expect "floods of martyr operations" that would leave body parts scattered in the streets. |
| Alan Johnson: "This was a particularly horrendous plot" | Alan Johnson: "This was a particularly horrendous plot" |
| The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command, Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowell, said officers had to balance the desire to collect sufficient evidence with the need to step in before the plans could be put into action. | The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command, Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowell, said officers had to balance the desire to collect sufficient evidence with the need to step in before the plans could be put into action. |
| "We ran this as long as we could run it as a covert, proactive operation and we moved in at the time that we felt that the risks were too great," he told the BBC. | "We ran this as long as we could run it as a covert, proactive operation and we moved in at the time that we felt that the risks were too great," he told the BBC. |
| The men's defence was that they had been planning a political stunt, including small explosions intended only to frighten people at airports. | The men's defence was that they had been planning a political stunt, including small explosions intended only to frighten people at airports. |
| These political demonstrations, they said, would be backed up by a documentary they were making about western injustices. The videos they had made were part of that documentary, they said. | These political demonstrations, they said, would be backed up by a documentary they were making about western injustices. The videos they had made were part of that documentary, they said. |
| The world's airlines were thrown into chaos in 2006 after the men's arrests, as security experts immediately introduced restrictions on liquids in hand luggage. | The world's airlines were thrown into chaos in 2006 after the men's arrests, as security experts immediately introduced restrictions on liquids in hand luggage. |
| This led to lengthy queues at some of the UK's airports during the summer holiday season. | This led to lengthy queues at some of the UK's airports during the summer holiday season. |
| Baroness Neville Jones, former chairwoman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, told the BBC: "This has brought home to us how potentially vulnerable travel and communication is." | Baroness Neville Jones, former chairwoman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, told the BBC: "This has brought home to us how potentially vulnerable travel and communication is." |
| But she added: "What this all shows is that with care, with vigilance, with the expenditure of effort and focus and concentration, the country can overcome this threat to us." | But she added: "What this all shows is that with care, with vigilance, with the expenditure of effort and focus and concentration, the country can overcome this threat to us." |
| The CPS said it now had seven days to decide whether to seek a retrial on any of the charges over which the jury failed to reach a verdict. | The CPS said it now had seven days to decide whether to seek a retrial on any of the charges over which the jury failed to reach a verdict. |
Airline terror plot: The evidence | Airline terror plot: The evidence |
| All three were found guilty in an earlier trial of conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs - but that jury could not decide whether their plans extended to detonating the devices on planes. | All three were found guilty in an earlier trial of conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs - but that jury could not decide whether their plans extended to detonating the devices on planes. |
| Now a second jury has decided that such a terror plot did exist. | Now a second jury has decided that such a terror plot did exist. |
| Donald Stewart-Whyte (not shown) was cleared of all charges.--> BACK{current} of {total}NEXT | Donald Stewart-Whyte (not shown) was cleared of all charges.--> BACK{current} of {total}NEXT |