LONDON, Sept 10: The Crown Prosecution Service on Wednesday decided to seek a retrial for seven men accused of plotting to bring down trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States and Canada.

On Monday an Old Bailey jury failed to return verdicts regarding charges related to the alleged plan to bomb jetliners, following a five-month trial.

Ahmed Abdullah Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain were convicted of conspiracy to murder, but jurors found no evidence over specific charges of plotting to blow up trans-Atlantic aircraft.

The jury was unable to agree whether four other suspects were guilty of any offences connected with the purported plot. An eighth defendant, Mohammed Gulzar, was cleared of all charges.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald, said: “I have carefully considered this case with the head of my counter-terrorism division and with counsel.

“I have today concluded that the prosecution should apply to retry each of these defendants on every count that the recently discharged jury failed to agree upon. This will include a count that each defendant conspired to detonate improvised explosive devices on trans-Atlantic passenger aircraft.”