Terror suspects appear in court

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Eight men have been remanded in custody after appearing in court in connection with the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.

The men, aged between 19 and 28, are charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing an act of terrorism.

They appeared at the Old Bailey via a video link and were remanded in custody for a further two weeks.

Police moved in August to thwart a suspected plot to bring down planes travelling from the UK to the US.

The men who appeared in court on Monday are Tanvir Hussain, 25, of no fixed address; Umar Islam, 28, of east London; Arafat Waheed Khan, 25, from Walthamstow, east London; Ahmed Abdullah Ali, also 25, from Walthamstow; Ibrahim Savant, 25, from north London; Waheed Zaman, 22, from Walthamstow; Assad Ali Sarwar, 26, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire; and 19-year-old Adam Khatib, from Walthamstow.

Multiple arrests

Each man is charged with one offence of conspiracy to murder under the Criminal Law Act 1977 and a second charge under the Terrorism Act 2006 alleging that they were preparing to smuggle the component parts of improvised explosive devices on to aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board.

The eight defendants sat in lines, watching the proceedings from Belmarsh prison on two screens.

Each spoke only to identify himself as the 28-minute hearing got under way.

They were among 24 people arrested as part of an operation launched on the night of 9 August. Of these, 14 have been charged over the alleged plot.

Four people have so far been released without charge and a 17-year-old youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is facing a separate terrorism charge which does not relate to the alleged conspiracy.

Five others are still being questioned by police about the alleged plot.

The case is not expected to reach trial until early 2008.