Security camera footage of three of the July 7 bombers visiting London on a reconnaissance trip nine days before they killed 52 people was shown in court yesterday. Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shezhad Tanweer and Jermaine Lindsay spent four hours visiting locations on the Underground network.

The moments that two of the bombers detonated their devices was also shown at Kingston Crown Court. A blinding flash and a cloud of dust mark the moment that Tanweer ripped apart a packed rush-hour Tube, killing seven passengers between Liverpool Street and Aldgate stations. Moments earlier commuters were seen hurrying on to the eastbound Circle Line train before a flash of light is seen in the tunnel. This is followed by clouds of dust that obscure the view of the camera.

A jury also watched the movements of Hasib Hussain who appeared to have suffered a technical hitch with his bomb. He is seen bending over his rucksack in King’s Cross station, then buying an item, believed to be a battery, from WH Smith. Wearing sunglasses, Hussain, 18, mingles with passers-by on the busy streets outside King’s Cross before he disappears from the camera’s view.

CCTV cameras at the British Medical Association in Tavistock Square showed people diving for cover as Hussain detonated his bomb on the upper deck of a number 30 bus, killing 13 passengers. Statements from witnesses who saw Hussain in the minutes before he detonated his device were read to the court, in which he was described as being agitated and “sweating profusely”, knocking past other passengers as he took his seat at the back of the bus.

Pictures from another bus show passengers struggling to get off as they see the vehicle behind them explode.

The court was told that on the June 28 reconnaissance mission Khan and Tanweer travelled from Leeds and met Lindsay, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, at 8.10am in Luton railway station – a similar time to the bombings nine days later. Footage showed the group entering the station and making their way to a platform where they caught a train to King’s Cross.

Khan is wearing a grey T-shirt, beige baseball cap and has a blue Berghaus rucksack. Tanweer is wearing light coloured trousers and a dark Puma T-shirt. Lindsay, dressed all in black including a cap, is seen wearing a rucksack and carrying a plastic bag.

After arriving in King’s Cross CCTV cameras pick up the trio disappearing into the underground network towards the Hammersmith and City Line. They are seen emerging at Embankment, where a close-up shot captures them chatting on some stairs.

At one point Khan, the ringleader, is seen strolling towards Madame Tussauds and eating an ice-cream.

The jury was shown a number of clips, which showed the group at South Kensington and Baker Street before heading back to Luton via King’s Cross at about 1pm.

The footage, much of which has never previously been seen, was played during a trial of three men who are accused of conspiring with the bombers to cause explosions. Waheed Ali, 24, Mohammed Shakil, 31, and Sadeer Saleem, 27, from Beeston, Leeds, deny the charge. The defendants are alleged to have carried out a previous reconnaissance mission in the capital on December 16 and 17, 2004, with Hussain and Lindsay. They are accused of pinpointing potential targets and the court has been told that they visited the Natural History Museum, the London Eye and the London Aquarium.

Neil Flewitt, QC, for the prosecution, had told the jury previously that the visit to London on June 28 was “clearly not a sightseeing trip”. He said that at the time of the December reconnaissance mission Khan and Tanweer had been in Pakistan and “no doubt wanted to see for themselves the locations where they planned to detonate their bombs on July 7”.

The trial continues.

Times Recommends

• Shrinking violet Gordon turns into raging bull
• Eddie Izzard: 'I keep thinking if I do all these things she'll come back'
• Is sex for the disabled the last taboo?