Four accused of failed July 21 bomb attacks appear in court for first time

Neville Dean

The alleged bombers were brought to court amid one of the toughest security operations ever seen at Belmarsh Magistrates Court in South East London.

The defendants were brought into court one by one for separate hearings in front of district judge, Timothy Workman.

Each of the men was dressed in standard police issue and sat on a plain wood bench in the dock behind a thick, glass screen stretching to the ceiling.

The first defendant to appear was Ibrahim Muktar Said, 27, from Stoke Newington, London, who is alleged to have tried to blow up a bus in Hackney Road.

Said faces four charges attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to endanger life by using explosives and making or possessing explosives with intent to endanger life.

The next man to appear was Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 32, who faces charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to endanger life by using explosives. The charges are understood to relate to the discovery of a suspected bomb in a rucksack on open ground at Little Wormwood Scrubs in London on July 23.

Ramzi Mohamed, 23, from North Kensington, West London and Yasin Omar, 24, from New Southgate, London, were read the same four charges as Said.

No bail applications were made on behalf of any of the defendants and all four were remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey for a plea and case management hearing on November 14.