THE jury has retired to consider its verdict on the charges against eight Muslim men accused of plotting to blow up passenger jets.

Mr Justice Henriques spent more than one week recounting evidence presented during the trial at Woolwich Crown Court, which started in February.

It is alleged that the defendants planned to hollow out AA batteries and place modified light bulbs inside, filled with the explosive mixture.

The mixture would then be detonated on non-stop flights via Air Canada, American Airlines and United Airlines, causing “death on an unprecedented scale”, it was claimed.

Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Arafat Waheed Khan, 27 and Waheed Zaman, all of Walthamstow, are on trial with Tanvir Hussain, 27, of Leyton, Umar Islam, 30, of Plaistow and Ibrahim Savant, 28, and Assad Sarwar, of High Wycombe.

They are accused of plotting to use explosives disguised as soft drinks to attack Transatlantic flights, which could have caused “heavy casualties upon an unwitting civilian population”.