Seven men have gone on trial accused of planning a campaign of terror in Britain. Three had more than half a ton of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, which can be used to make bombs, the Old Bailey was told. The seven, all British citizens, deny the allegations.They are accused of conspiring between January 1, 2003, and March 31, 2004, with Canadian Mohammed Momin Khawaja and with others unknown, to "cause by explosive substances, an explosion or explosions of a nature likely to endanger life". The accused are: Omar Khyam, 24, Waheed Mahmood, 34, Shujah Mahmood, 19, and Jawad Akbar, 22, all from Crawley, West Sussex; Anthony Garcia (also known as Rahman Adam), 23, of Ilford, east London; Nabeel Hussain, 20, of Horley, Surrey, and Salahuddin Amin, 31, from Luton, Bedfordshire.
Khyam, Garcia and Hussain also deny a charge under the Terrorism Act 2000 of possession of an article for terrorism - 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser - between November 5, 2003, and March 31, 2004. The fertiliser was found at a west London storage depot in 2004. Brothers Khyam and Shuja Mahmood also deny having aluminium powder for terrorism between October 1, 2003, and March 31, 2004. Aluminium powder can also be used to make bombs.
The judge, Sir Michael Astill, warned the jury not to be influenced by anything outside the trial process, saying: "Terrorism has been at the forefront of matters and debate worldwide for a long time. "It became the subject of much discussion of late in the United Kingdom after the bombings in London on July 7, 2005. Much of the factual reporting has been fair and accurate. Some of it has not. "Many different theories and views have been offered and inevitably most members of the public will have an opinion about terrorism and its causes. It is therefore reasonable to expect that you bring to this court a point of view. It would not be reasonable to expect you to approach your task now as if you had never had an opinion."
But, he added, it was essential that the jurors tried to put aside any opinion they did have. He warned the jury not to carry out their own research on the internet and told them that the trial was likely to last "many months".