Extremist gang who plotted bombing campaign cost taxpayers £8.8m in legal aid

EXTREMISTS who plotted a bombing campaign have cost the taxpayer £8.8million in legal aid.

The gang, who could have killed hundreds, have been clocking up the huge fees behind bars for years.

The five men, who had close links to the 7/7 terrorists, were jailed for life in 2007.

They were found guilty of planning to set off a wave of explosions in locations including the Bluewater shopping centre, Kent, and London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub.

Ringleader Omar Khyam, now 42, of Crawley, West Sussex, led Anthony Garcia, Jawad Akbar, Waheed Mahmood, and ­Salahuddin Amin in the plot — which was foiled by MI5.

Now data obtained by The Sun under Freedom of Information rules shows they have racked up a huge bill for appeals and judicial reviews, all paid for by the taxpayer.

For the initial terrorism trials at the , the five were handed £8,447,613.69 in legal aid.

And £228,125 has been forked out over 16 years to cover different cases since.

Some are still ongoing, with a civil case taken by Amin against the police for “trespass/assault” costing £125,581 since it started in 2007.

It was revealed earlier this year he had been granted a parole hearing after arguing he should be freed, with a date yet to be set for later in 2023.

Tory MP Nigel Mills said of the aid: “It seems they are ­milking the system and some lawyers are helping them.

“It’s right that you have legal representation at a trial, but we shouldn’t be paying for lawyers for spurious civil claims.”