A RETRIAL is to be sought for three men who were accused of plotting to blow up transatlantic aircraft.

Arafat Khan, 28, and Waheed Zaman, 25, of Walthamstow and Ibrahim Savant, 28, of Stoke Newington, were cleared of plotting to plant bombs on the airliners.

But a jury failed to reach a decision on whether they were guilty of conspiracy to murder, at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday.

The men were on trial after being accused of participating in a plan to use bombs disguised as soft drinks on flights between London and the US to cause 'destruction on an unprecedented scale'.

And Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer has now said a new trial for the charge of conspiracy to murder is to be sought.

He stated there is a "realistic prospect" of convicting the men for conspiracy to murder, despite two previous juries failing to agree on the charge.

He said: "I have concluded that, in this exceptional case, it is in the public interest to seek a further retrial."

A judge will decide whether the men should face a third trial.

Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, of Walthamstow, Tanvir Hussain, 28, of Leyton, and Assad Sarwar, 29, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, were all found guilty of conspiring to use the explosives on the flights.

The original arrests over the plot in August 2006 sparked panic within international aviation, prompting restrictions on bringing liquids on board planes.