Cleared hijackers could sue for £1m

Nine Afghan hijackers dramatically cleared over their roles in an armed siege at Stansted airport are set to push for compensation which could top more than £1 million in total.

The gang, who threatened to blow up a packed passenger jet three years ago after forcing it to fly from their home country, are also set to renew claims for asylum, even though the Taliban regime from which they fled has now been toppled.

The moves come after the Court of Appeal yesterday quashed their convictions, accepting that they had been "forced" to take the plane.

The latest twist in a saga which has seen two Old Bailey trials and may cost taxpayers up to £26 million means that the ringleaders of the plot are likely to be released from jail today.

Seven of the men had already been freed after completing sentences of up to 30 months. But ringleaders Mohammed Safi, 35, and Ali Safi, 37, serving five years, will become free men today.

The extraordinary case, which began when the airliner with 156 passengers touched down at Stansted in February 2000, cost police £2.1 million and so far has cost the asylum system £1.8 million.

In total 27 barristers were engaged, together with seven interpreters, and a computerised translation system was installed in court to turn the proceedings into two dialects.

The men, members of anti-Taliban groups, said they would suffer torture and possibly death if they stayed in Afghanistan. They were found guilty of hijacking, false imprisonment, possessing firearms with intent to cause fear of violence and possessing explosives in the retrial in 2001.

Yesterday Appeal Court judges quashed their convictions after ruling that the Old Bailey judge had misdirected the jury - rendering the men's convictions "unsafe". They are now reportedly considering compensation claims for wrongful imprisonment.

Lord Justice Longmore, sitting with Mr Justice Hooper and Mr Justice Cox, said: "We have decided there was a misdirection. The appeal will be allowed but we will give our reasons at a later date."

There will be no retrial. Abdul Shohab, 23, Taimur Shah, 30, Nazamuddin Mohammidy, 29, Abdul Ghayur, 26, Mohammed Kazin, 28, Mohammed Showaib, 28, were all jailed for 30 months. They and Reshad Ahmadi, 21, who received 27 months, had been freed before the ruling.

Speaking yesterday, one of the defence solicitors, Imran Khan, said: "It's justice delayed - not justice denied."