July 21 bombers jailed for 40 years

Sentencing the four failed July 21 suicide bombers, Mr Justice Fulford QC said he was in "no doubt" the two attacks were linked. But he warned that such "murderous" intentions would only fail in their attempt to "secure the political and religious goals they desire".

After a six-month trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Judge Fulford also lambasted a firm of solicitors representing two of the bombers for its conduct. He said Arani & Co had made "wholly unjustified" complaints about staff at Belmarsh Prison in an attempt to put up a "smokescreen".

Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussain Osman were all jailed after being found guilty of plotting carnage across London. Judge Fulford said they had been seduced into a "fanatical, jihadist and extremely violent way of thinking" before planning the attacks over several months.

"This was a viable, indeed a very nearly successful, attempt at mass murder. It was long in the planning and came soon after July 7 - it was designed for maximum impact. The evidence leads me to the firm conclusion that these were not truly isolated events but to the contrary. They were to an extent co-ordinated and connected in that I have no doubt that they were both part of an al Qaida-inspired and controlled sequence of attacks," he said.

The judge said none of the men could be considered for release before the 40-year tariff was served. As they were led from the dock, Ibrahim, 29, shook his head slightly, Omar, 26 - wearing white Muslim dress - stared at the judge, Osman, 28, clutched his Koran, while Mohammed, 25, was the only one who struggled to compose himself.

Describing the horror that the suicide bombs would have caused, Judge Fulford said: "It is clear that at least 50 people would have died, hundreds of people would have been wounded, thousands would have had their lives permanently damaged, disfigured or otherwise, whether they were Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, agnostic or atheist.

"The family and friends of the dead and the injured, the hundreds, indeed thousands, captured in darkness underground in terrifying circumstances - the smoke, the fires, the screams of the wounded and the dying - this each defendant knew."

The judge said the scientific evidence made it clear the bombs were "very close to succeeding", had the detonators been more powerful and the hydrogen peroxide explosive stronger.

Before sentencing a retrial was ordered for the two remaining defendants in the case. It is expected to be heard before Mr Justice Calvert-Smith QC. Manfo Kwaku Asiedu and Adel Yahya both deny conspiracy to murder.