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Three guilty of airline bomb plot Three guilty of airline bomb plot
(20 minutes later)
Three men have been found guilty of plotting to kill thousands of people by blowing up planes over the Atlantic with home-made liquid bombs. Three men have been found guilty of plotting to kill thousands of people by blowing up planes from London to North 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 airline plot.Four other men were found not guilty of involvement in the airline plot.
The men's arrests in 2006 led to new airport restrictions on liquids and brought chaos to travellers.The men's arrests in 2006 led to new airport restrictions on liquids and brought chaos to travellers.
The plot's ringleader Ali, along with Hussain and Sarwar, was previously found guilty of conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs - but that jury could not decide whether the three men's plans extended to detonating the devices on planes. The jury heard that, at the time of the men's arrest in August 2006, the plot's ringleader Ali had identified seven flights leaving Heathrow for North American cities.
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 in hand luggage in ordinary sports drinks bottles.
Ali, Hussain and Sarwar, was previously found guilty of conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs - but that jury could not decide whether the three men's plans extended to detonating the devices on planes.
This has brought home to us how potentially vulnerable travel and communication is Baroness Neville JonesFormer chairwoman of the Joint Intelligence Committee Liquid bomb plot: what happened The emails sent by the bombers
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.
'Overcome the threat'
With thousands killed in the air, the explosions could have caused more devastation than the September 11 attacks.With thousands killed in the air, the explosions could have caused more devastation than the September 11 attacks.
The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner said Whitehall officials believed the airline plot was the "most significant investigation in the public domain that MI5 had ever undertaken along with the police".
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."
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.
GUILTY OF AIRLINE BOMB PLOT Abdulla Ahmed AliAssad SarwarTanvir Hussain Airline bomb plot: the verdicts Full verdicts explained Airline bomb plot: the emails
Mr Stewart-Whyte was also cleared of a general charge of conspiracy to murder.Mr Stewart-Whyte was also cleared of a general charge of conspiracy to murder.
GUILTY OF AIRLINE BOMB PLOT Abdulla Ahmed AliAssad SarwarTanvir Hussain
The jury failed to reach verdicts on general conspiracy to murder charges against Mr Savant, Mr Khan and Mr Zaman.The jury failed to reach verdicts on general conspiracy to murder charges against Mr Savant, Mr Khan and Mr Zaman.
An eighth man, Umar Islam, 31, 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, 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.
Bomb factory 'Political stunt'
The court was told MI5 officers uncovered the plotters as they followed cells of extremists in London. Ali and Hussain recorded jihadist suicide videos denouncing the West.
The jury heard that, at the time of the men's arrest in August 2006, Ali had identified seven flights leaving from Heathrow to North American cities. In his, Ali warned the British public to expect "floods of martyr operations" that would leave body parts scattered in the streets.
Sarwar, meanwhile, was described as the plot's "quartermaster", securing bomb ingredients from his home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Their defence was that they had been planning a political stunt, including small explosions only intended to frighten people at airports.
A flat in the Walthamstow area of east London became the bomb factory, where the men put together a special mixture of chemicals. 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.
They planned to take this mixture, sealed in ordinary sports drinks bottles, on board flights in hand luggage.
The men told the court that they had been planning a political stunt, including small explosions only intended to frighten people at airports.
The world's aviation industry was thrown into chaos in 2006 after their arrests, as security experts immediately introduced restrictions on liquids in hand luggage.The world's aviation industry was thrown into chaos in 2006 after their arrests, as security experts immediately introduced restrictions on liquids in hand luggage.