Guardian : Trio not guilty of helping 7/7 London bombers

Trio not guilty of helping 7/7 London bombers

Jury clears men of conspiring with four bombers over London 2005 explosions that killed 52

Rachel Williams | April 28, 2009

Three British Muslims were today cleared of helping the 7 July bombers choose their targets by carrying out a reconnaissance mission in London seven months before the attacks that killed 52 people and injured almost 1,000.

A jury at Kingston crown court unanimously found Waheed Ali, 25, Sadeer Saleem, 28, and Mohammed Shakil, 32, all from Beeston, Leeds, not guilty of conspiring with the four bombers to cause explosions, after deliberating for eight days.

They are the only people to be charged over the attacks in 2005, which prompted the biggest criminal investigation in British history – more than 18,450 statements were taken and at least 37,000 exhibits were collected.

Ali and Shakil were, however, convicted of conspiracy to attend a place used for terrorist training. They were about to board a flight to Pakistan when they were arrested in 2007. The pair will be sentenced tomorrow afternoon.

The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, welcomed those guilty verdicts, which she said "clearly demonstrated the determined stance the UK takes against those suspected of involvement in terrorism".

As the verdicts were read out, Ali smiled broadly, Saleem wiped his eyes and Shakil leant forward, mouthing "thank you" to the jury. The trio had been retried after a jury failed to reach a verdict on the charges relating to the 7 July attacks last year after about three weeks of deliberations.

Survivors of the attacks and family members of those who died said today's verdicts strengthened the case for an independent inquiry into the bombings.

The end of the trial clears the way for the publication of a long-awaited report into whether the attacks could have been prevented, which is expected to be critical of the way MI5 and West Yorkshire police responded to earlier intelligence linking some of the suicide bombers with a group who were plotting to explode a series of huge fertiliser bombs.

The two key bombers, Mohammad Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, crossed MI5's radar several times in 2004 as the security service watched the gang that was later convicted of plotting to blow up Bluewater shopping centre in Kent and south London's Ministry of Sound nightclub.

Ali was also present when Khan and Tanweer met the leader of that cell, Omar Khyam, and Shakil and Khan trained with him at a camp in Pakistan in 2003.

But after the fertiliser plotters were arrested in March 2003, Khan and Tanweer, who had been judged to be peripheral figures because they only seemed interested in committing fraud to fund overseas jihad, were not followed again by M15 and were not identified by the service.

Khyam was referred to as "Ausman" during the trial for fear that revealing his true indentity to the jury would prejudice the case.

Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David worked for the Guardian in Manchester and was killed in the Edgware Road tube explosion, said: "For almost four years, we have been asking for an inquiry into what led up to 7/7.

"We are not looking for people to blame, but we also know that we have not been told the whole truth. We believe that crucial lessons need to be learned. If mistakes have been made, they should be put right, not covered up. This is not a witch-hunt, it is simply about saving lives."

Police have said they know others were involved in the attacks and believe there are still people in Beeston with significant information who have never come forward.

Deputy assistant commissioner John McDowall, the head of the Metropolitan police's counterterrorism command, said he believed others were involved in planning the attacks.

"I would urge anybody who has any information about 7/7 to come forward and contact police," he said. "I do understand that people may have concerns about the impact of giving us information, but it is the right thing to do."

Speaking about Ali and Shakil, he said: "These two men learned to fight at training camps attended by other terrorists. Mohammed Siddique Khan and Mohammed Shakil told other attendees that their aim was to fight in Afghanistan. They were proficient in the use of, and handling of, terrorist weapons and were certainly not enjoying a day out in a beautiful and mountainous area of Pakistan, as was suggested in court.

"Shakil himself accepted that the camp at Malakand was a serious business, whose purpose was to train willing volunteers to fight and kill in Afghanistan on behalf of the Taliban, a cause to which both he and Ali were, and remain, sympathetic.

"Ali and Shakil clearly associated with, and shared the terrorist beliefs of, the London bombers."

Ali, Saleem and Shakil spent two days in London with the bus bomber, Hasib Hussain, in December 2004 and were joined there by another of the attackers, Jermaine Lindsay, who killed 26 people on a Piccadilly line underground train.

The trio had denied the charges and said they were on a sightseeing trip. They went on the London Eye and visited the Natural History Museum and the London Aquarium as they travelled around the capital.

The prosecution alleged they conducted a "hostile reconnaissance" of potential targets, claiming it was "an important first step in what was, by then, a settled plan to cause explosions in the UK".

Interviewed by police shortly after the bombings, Ali, Saleem and Shakil distanced themselves from the bombers but, in the year that followed, DNA and fingerprint evidence linked them to the two bomb factories in the city and made them "persons of interest".

Detectives first realised the trio may have been to London with Hussain and Lindsay while analysing the details of 4,700 phone numbers and 90,000 calls. Cell site analysis, pinpointing the location of a mobile phone when a call is made, revealed that all five men had been in the capital on 16-17 December. The analysis allowed the group's movements across London to be mapped.

But there was no CCTV footage to show what they had been doing and no proof they had even been on the London underground, where three of the four bombs exploded.

The trio argued during the trial that the items carrying their DNA had been taken to the bomb factories by the bombers, not them.

The jury was warned not to think that they must be guilty just because they were friends with the bombers, with whom they attended the same mosques, gyms and community organisations growing up in Beeston.

The Crown Prosecution Service later defended its decision to prosecute the three men and to go for a retrial following the first court case, although it "fully respected" the jury's verdict.

Sue Hemming, the head of the counterterrorism division, said: "Although there was no direct evidence that these men were involved in the terrible events of 7/7, we felt there was sufficient evidence to show they were involved in reconnaissance and planning for an attack of some kind and it was in the public interest that such a serious matter should be put before a court."

Saleem, who was cleared of all charges, called for an inquiry into his prosecution.

In a statement read by Imran Khan, his solicitor, on the steps of Kingston crown court, Saleem said: "I have lost over two years of my life which I will never get back. Even though I have been acquitted, some people will always connect me with these events.

"I want people to know I am totally innocent and I want there to be an inquiry into why I was prosecuted on the flimsiest of evidence. Nobody should be put through what I have gone through."

Guardian : Four years, 52 dead, £100m - no convictions

Four years, 52 dead, £100m - no convictions

Police say further 7/7 charges unlikely
Security officials say little chance of 7/7 bombing charges as three cleared

Sandra Laville, Rachel Williams and Richard Norton-Taylor | April 29, 2009

Senior security officials conceded last night that it is likely no one will be brought to justice for the 7 July bombs that killed 52 people in London in 2005, despite their belief that more than 20 people were involved in the attacks.

The admission came shortly after the only three men to be charged in connection with the suicide bombings were acquitted yesterday.

After a £100m criminal investigation, the biggest police inquiry in modern times, the trio were cleared by a jury at Kingston crown court of helping to plan the attacks by carrying out a reconnaissance mission with two of the bombers.

The men, Waheed Ali, 25, Mohammed Shakil, 32, and Sadeer Saleem, 28, had already been tried once last year, when a jury failed to reach a verdict.

Peter Clarke, former head of the Metropolitan police's anti-terrorism branch, who led the inquiry until his retirement last year, told the Guardian: "Every possible line had been followed and there didn't seem to be any fresh new lines. The core of the investigation was the people that were in court over the last few weeks."

Another senior source said the investigating officers were now at a loss where to turn. The Guardian understands that counter-terrorism officials believe around 20 people were involved, from those associated with the bombers to those who helped them plan the attacks.

The three men acquitted yesterday became "persons of interest" when officers discovered DNA and fingerprints linking them to the two bomb factories in Leeds. Detectives first realised they had been to London with bombers Hasib Hussain and Germaine Lindsay while scrutinising the details of 4,700 phone numbers and 90,000 calls. Cell site analysis, pinpointing the location of a mobile phone when a call is made, revealed that all five men had been in the capital on 16-17 December.

But during the trial they insisted that they had been on a sightseeing trip, visiting the London Eye, the London Aquarium and the Natural History Museum, and were opposed to suicide bombings. No CCTV of the visit remained. At least 10 sets of fingerprints found at the bomb factories have never been identified.

The verdict opens the way for fresh and highly damaging disclosures by the parliamentary intelligence and security committee (ISC) about how MI5 and West Yorkshire police missed opportunities to follow - and possibly stop - two of the 7 July suicide bombers.

A report by the ISC, which the Guardian has been told describes in detail how MI5 and West Yorkshire police failed to intercept the attackers, was withheld in case it prejudiced the trial but will be released next month. Campaigners said it had been described to them as "devastating".

More intelligence is also believed to have emerged about what the security and intelligence agencies knew about the training camps in Pakistan, the number of people connected with the 7/7 bombers who visited them and how many times.

The Guardian understands the ISC report details how MI5 officers monitored four meetings in early 2004 between Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer - the ringleaders of the 7/7 attacks - and Omar Khyam, the ringleader of a plot to blow up shopping centres and nightclubs who was jailed for life in 2007. Ali was also at some of the meetings.

Crucial questions that have not been answered include:

• Why MI5 and police did not take more urgent steps to identify Khan and Tanweer, whom they had photographed and bugged.

• Whether Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch or MI5 alerted West Yorkshire police about everything they knew.

• Has the ISC now been given all the new evidence, including about links between the plotters here and camps in Pakistan?

Survivors and family of those who died stepped up calls for an independent inquiry, saying that if the report fails to answer "key questions" they will push ahead with a judicial review into the government's refusal to order one. They called for inquests to be arranged as soon as possible, and voiced fears the hearings could be held in secret under the coroners and justice bill going through parliament.

Robert Webb, whose 29-year-old sister Laura died in the Edgware Road bombing, said: "The trial ... raises again the awful question of whether the bombings could have been prevented."

Saleem, 28, spoke outside court to say he was "totally innocent" yesterday. "I have lost over two years of my life which I will never get back," he said.

Ali and Shakil were convicted of planning to attend a terrorist training camp, charges added at the retrial. They were arrested on their way to Manchester airport to fly to Pakistan in March 2007.

Times : British trio cleared of helping to plan 7/7 London attacks

British trio cleared of helping to plan 7/7 London attacks

David Brown | April 28, 2009

Three British Muslims were cleared today of helping to plan terrorist attacks on London that killed 52 people and injured almost 1,000.

Waheed Ali, Mohammed Shakil and Sadeer Saleem are the only people to have been prosecuted over Britain's first suicide bomb attacks, on July 7, 2005

They were accused of carrying out a reconnaissance mission to identify targets for the 7/7 gang but were found not guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions after a three-month trial at Kingston Crown Court.

Ali and Shakil were convicted of planning to attend a terrorist training camp when they were arrested on their way to Manchester Airport for a flight to Pakistan in March 2007.

Senior police officers have admitted that no one else is likely to be charged in connection with the London attacks despite evidence that other people were involved.

Andy Hayman, Britain’s most senior anti-terrorism police officer at the time of the attacks, told The Times: “We must respect the verdict of the jury but, rather than it starting to bring a small degree of closure, we are instead left with a deep sense of emptiness.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Mohammed Sidique Khan and the other three bombers had significant assistance from other people in this country and overseas.”

Mr Ali, 25, Mr Shakil, 33, and Mr Saleem, 28, admitted that they had been committed jihadists and had previously attended training camps in Pakistan. They insisted that they had no knowledge of the planned attacks on London and said that it was against their faith to attack civilians.

The men – all from Beeston, Leeds – travelled to London in December 2004 with two of the 7/7 gang, Jermaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussain. During the two-day trip they visited the Natural History Museum, the London Eye and the London Aquarium, as well as the eventual targets chosen for the attacks.

The men insisted that they had visited to capital so that Ali could see his sister before flying to Pakistan to join a terrorism training camp. They said that they were sightseeing.

Seven months later their friends detonated explosives on three packed Tube trains and a bus at the height of the morning rush hour.

Hussain killed 13 passengers on a bus in Tavistock Square and Lindsay killed 26 people on a Piccadilly Line train at Russell Square.

Mohammad Sidique Khan killed six people on a Circle Line train at Edgware Road and Shezhad Tanweer killed seven people at Aldgate.

Mr Justice Gross had told the jury that they should not convict the men simply because they were outraged by the events of July 7 and could not punish the dead bombers.

A previous jury last year failed to reach verdicts on the charges of conspiracy to cause explosions.

Today’s acquittals after two trials estimated to have cost at least £5 million will lead to renewed calls for a public inquiry into events leading up to the 7/7 attacks.

The Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, which had previously defended the failure to identify the bombers before they struck, has completed a report that is expected to be more critical of the missed opportunities to stop the attacks.

Mohammad Sidique Khan, the leader of the 7/7 gang, his fellow bomber Shezhad Tanweer and Ali had appeared four times in M15 surveillance more than a year before the attacks.

They were spotted after meetings with another terrorist gang in Crawley, West Sussex. But the jury was not told that the other gang planned to attack a London shopping centre or nightclub with a massive fertiliser-based bomb.

Ali, who was born in Bangladesh, boasted in court that his “ultimate aim” was to fight coalition forces in Afghanistan and kill British soldiers. He described civilian deaths as “collateral damage”.

He attended a jihadist training camp in Pakistan with Khan in 2001 and both men served with the Taleban in Afghanistan for two weeks. He attended another jihad camp in Pakistan from December 2004 to March 2005.

Shakil, also a father of three, was born in Pakistan. He had worked with Mohammad Sidique Khan as a youth leader at the Hardy Street Mosque in Beeston.

He attended a jihad training in Kashmir in 1999 and in 2003 travelled to Pakistan with Khan to take part in another camp, were they met members of the fertliser-bomb gang.

Attendance at a terrorism training camp abroad was made illegal by the Terrorism Act 2006.

Times : 7/7 bombings: end of the road

7/7 bombings: end of the road

Sean O’Neill and David Brown | April 29, 2009

No one will be brought to justice for the mass murder of 52 people in the 7/7 London bombings, security sources conceded last night as three men were acquitted of helping the terrorists.

After a massive security operation, a four-year investigation and two trials costing well in excess of £100 million, three friends of the lead suicide bomber, c, were cleared by a jury of being part of his support cell. Sadeer Saleem, 28, left court a free man but Waheed Ali, 25, and Mohammed Shakil, 32, were convicted of attending terrorist training camps and will be sentenced today.

Detectives are certain that the bombers received help from within the Muslim community in Beeston, Leeds, which, they say, is reluctant to co-operate with police. Sources said that potential witnesses had been “actively dissuaded” from helping police. As many as ten sets of unidentified fingerprints were found in bomb factories used by Khan, 30, and the three other men who killed themselves in the attacks on three Tube trains and a London bus on July 7, 2005.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowall, of the Scotland Yard Counter Terrorism Command, said: “While those directly responsible for the bombings died in the attacks, we remain convinced that others must have been involved in the planning.”

Mr McDowall appealed for witnesses to come forward, but Andy Hayman, the Yard’s head of counter-terrorism in July 2005, writes in The Times today that the trial was “the last throw of the dice” for the 7/7 investigation.

Survivors and relatives of the victims accepted the verdicts with resignation and demanded immediate publication of an Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report into 7/7, the urgent opening of inquests and an independent inquiry with powers to summon witnesses.

“We want an inquiry which can get to the bottom of what went wrong and why Khan wasn’t stopped. We don’t want a witch-hunt, we just want the truth,” said Rachel North, who was injured in the blast at King’s Cross.

The ISC report is expected in two weeks. The key issue for the relatives will be the fate of a fax message sent by MI5, which watched Khan in 2004 as he associated with another British terrorist, to West Yorkshire Police asking for his movements to be watched.

Informed sources say that receipt of the fax was never acknowledged. Police did not monitor Khan and he flew to Pakistan where he was groomed by al-Qaeda leaders to become a suicide bomber.

Graham Foulkes, whose son David, 22, died on a Circle Line train at Edgware Road, said that the trial revealed that there had been significant pre-attack intelligence about Khan.

He said: “Immediately after the bombings the Home Secretary, Tony Blair and other politicians were saying these men were ‘clean skins’ and the attacks came ‘out of the blue’. Either they were lying, or the intelligence community lied to the politicians.”