THREE men who plotted to blow up planes in mid flight above the Atlantic were convicted by a jury today of conspiracy to murder. They planned to smuggle liquid explosives disguised as fizzy drinks through Heathrow airport security undetected, before detonating their bombs in the air

THREE men who plotted to blow up planes in mid flight above the Atlantic were convicted by a jury today of conspiracy to murder.

They planned to smuggle liquid explosives disguised as fizzy drinks through Heathrow airport security undetected, before detonating their bombs in the air.

Abdullah Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain, all from East London, were found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to murder by detonating improvised explosive devices on board Transatlantic passenger aircraft and will be sentenced next Monday.

Ali and Hussain used a 'bomb factory' at a house in Forest Road in Walthamstow to plan and manufacture explosives.

Police searches at various properties and open spaces in East London uncovered quantities of hydrogen peroxide, light bulbs and wires, a thermometer, batteries and a crucial digital tape containing the suicide videos of Ali and Hussain.

Depty Assist Commissioner John McDowall, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said after today's verdict: "If these terrorists had been successful, many people would have lost their lives. Many more would have died if they had chosen to detonate their bombs over land.

"They intended to cause carnage through a series of co-ordinated and deadly explosions and bring terror to people around the globe and were prepared to sacrifice their own lives.

"These attacks would have had enormous worldwide economic and political consequences."

The three claimed the suicide videos were just threats to influence the Government and intimidate the public. But the jury at Woolwich crown court in south-east London today (Sept 7) rejected this and accepted it was an attempt at martyrdom.