Three men accused of helping the July 7 bombers plan their attack have been found not guilty.

At Kingston Crown Court, Waheed Ali, Mohammed Shakil and Sadeer Saleem were cleared by a jury of carrying out a reconnaissance mission to help the London bombers. It followed a three-month long re-trial after an earlier jury failed to reach verdicts.

But two of the men, Ali, 25, and Shakil, 32, were convicted of a new charge of conspiring to attend a terrorist training camp.

The trio, all from Beeston, Leeds, were accused of scouting the capital for possible targets with two of the four young British Muslims who detonated homemade devices in co-ordinated attacks on three underground trains and a bus in 2005.

They were accused of visiting the London Eye, the Natural History Museum and the London Aquarium while pinpointing potential targets seven months before the 2005 atrocity. They admitted visiting the locations but claimed the visit was entirely social.

Outside court, Mr Saleem, 28, said he was "totally innocent" and had been prosecuted on the "flimsiest of evidence".

The CPS defended its decision to prosecute the three men. Sue Hemming, head of the counter terrorism division, said: "Although there was no direct evidence that these men were involved in the terrible events of 7/7, we felt there was sufficient evidence to show they were involved in reconnaissance and planning for an attack of some kind and it was in the public interest that such a serious matter should be put before a court.

"For the same reason, the decision to go for a retrial following the hung jury in the first trial was correct."

They were the first people to face charges in connection with the attacks, which killed 52 people and injured up to 1,000 more.

Many more people were involved in the July 7 plot and the investigation is still live, police later said, and there could be further charges relating to the bombings.

Some of the fingerprints found at the bomb factories used by Mohammed Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussain have yet to be identified.

One senior officer said: "This is the largest investigation ever carried out by the Metropolitan Police. Every clue and lead was, and is still being, tracked down.

"I would not rule out other charges but whether they will be as significant as those faced by these men I cannot say.

"There were a large number of fingerprints at the bomb factories - the vast bulk belonged to the bombers but others are still unknown.

"The message should go out that we will go to the nth degree and pursue anyone who we think is involved in a plot against this country."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.