After a six-month trial and almost a week of deliberations the jury at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday found four men guilty of planning to set off bombs.
LONDON: The 12-member Jury that convicted four men of plotting to launch a series of suicide bomb attacks on London's public transport system on July 21, 2005 was discharged on Tuesday after they failed to reach a verdict on charges against the last two defendants in the case.
After a six-month trial and almost a week of deliberations the jury at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday found four men guilty of planning to set off bombs on the transport system exactly two weeks after July 7, 2005 bombings on the network that killed 52 commuters.
But the nine women and three men of the jury were senthome today after telling the judge Justice Fulford, QC, that they could not reach verdicts against two other defendants, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 34 and Adel Yahya, 24, who both deny conspiracy to murder.
Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussain Osman were found guilty of conspiracy to murder by the court yesterday.
The verdict came amid high alert against possible terrorthreats in the country in the wake failed car bombs in London and the attack on Glasgow airport.
Justice Fulford said none of the jurors would have to take part in jury service again.
"The fact you were unable to reach a verdict on two of the defendants does not in any way reflect badly on any of you," Fulford said.
He told prosecutors that it would be "helpful" if they could decide by tomorrow morning on whether to ask for a retrial.
Until then the two defendants would remain in custody, although he accepted that a bail application for Yahya may be made later.
Fulford said that he would sentence the four convicted men tomorrow.
"You were told that this trial would last for a maximum period of three months, this trial then doubled in length.
"Many of you have made significant and personal sacrifices to participate in these proceedings and you have had to make very important decisions having reviewed a huge weight of evidence," Fulford said.
The prosecution had alleged that Asiedu was the 'fifth bomber', but backed out at the last minute and abandoned his rucksack bomb in a West London park.
Yahya was said to be part of the group's "inner circle", but denied any involvement.
Meanwhile, anti-terrorist police and the security services are facing questions about how the leader of the failed suicide bomb plot, Muktar Said Ibrahim, was allowed to travel to Pakistan in December 2004 while facing charges over extremist behaviour.
He travelled to Pakistan to learn the skills needed to organise the attack, prosecutors said.
The jury convicted Ibrahim of trying to explode a home-made bomb on a No 26 bus in Hackney on the day of the failed plot.
Soon after Monday's verdicts questions were raised about how Ibrahim left the UK while facing charges over extremist behaviour and Osman's bogus asylum status.
The Tories criticized the fact that Ibrahim was allowed to travel to Pakistan in December 2004 to learn terrorist skills, despite being on bail.
Ibrahim was in Pakistan at exactly the same time as two of the July 7 bombers, Mohammed Siddique Khan and ShehzadTanweer, and stayed for three months.
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