Fertiliser plot jurors tell of trial
Updated on 03 May 2007
Two of the jurors in the fertiliser plot have told Channel 4 News of the ordeal of the 14 month trial and how it impacted on their lives.
Summoned to the most high profile criminal court in the country and forced to work with a group of strangers for over a year. Locked together in a tiny room as they decided the fates of seven men.
For the first time, Channel 4 News talks to two of the jurors in the fertiliser bomb plot trial; 25-year-old Edward Manktelow, the youngest of the group - and his jury partner, Audrey Young.
There are strict laws about talking to jurors - we weren't allowed to ask them how they reached their verdicts. But they wanted to share their experiences about being part of the biggest terror trial of recent years.
They sat for a year - but heard 12 months of evidence - but they were never told of the links between some of the defendants and two of the July 7th suicide bombers:
New photos
New surveillance pictures, obtained by our programme, show Omar Khyam, meeting two of the suicide bombers, Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Siddique Khan, months before the July attacks on London.
Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Siddique Khan
Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Siddique Khan
Shehzad Tanweer, Omar Khyam and Mohammad Siddique Khan
Omar Khyam and Mohammad Siddique Khan
Mohammad Siddique Khan
The trial
Since the jury delivered their verdicts, questions have been asked about just what the security services knew when:
The trial first opened 13 months ago. The all-white jury of five women and seven men, were randomly selected by a letter through the front door:
And it was one of the big ones - at the time of the arrests in 2004, the most important terrorist investigation ever carried out by Scotland Yard.
Seven men were in the dock, accused of plotting to blow up shopping centres and nightclubs.
The jury heard masses of evidence - 100 phone lines had been bugged; 4000 calls logged; and 35,000 hours of material collected.
They were originally told the case would last for just four months - but the months started to drag on.
The jurors were assigned one room with two kettles - but no toaster, because of health and safety.
They were given a five pound lunch allowance - most bought in their own sandwiches, because the food in the canteen was so bad.
