Two brothers charged in connection with the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners this summer walked free from court today after a judge found there was insufficient evidence to put them on trial.

Mehran Hussain, 24, and Umair Hussain, 25, both of Chingford, East London, were discharged by District Judge Quentin Purdy following a committal hearing at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London.

The brothers, who were arrested on August with 22 other people across London and the Midlands, had been charged with failing to disclose information that might have have been "of material assistance" in preventing their younger brother, Nabeel, who is 22, from carrying out a terrorist act.

Nabeel Hussain, also from Chingford, East London, is one of 11 people charged with conspiracy to murder and to smuggle explosives onboard aircraft with the intention of detonating them.

He was granted bail on Friday, along with a 17-year-old suspect who cannot be named because of his age. The youth has been charged with having materials useful to terrorism, including a book on improvised explosive devices, some suicide notes and wills with the identities of persons prepared to commit acts of terror.

Twenty-four people, of whom 17 were eventually charged, were arrested in Britain on August 9 after an operation by security services in the US and the UK in connection with the alleged plot.

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