THE JURY in the trial of a Blackburn man alleged to have encouraged fellow Muslims to murder Gordon Brown and Tony Blair has been discharged.

The case involving Ishaq Kanmi, 23, was stopped for legal reasons on day 14 of the trial at Preston Crown Court.

The hearing was scheduled to last for between four and six weeks.

Mr Justice McCombe thanked the jurors for their conduct throughout the trial and he told them: “I have decided that the present trial can no longer continue.”

The judge ordered that a preliminary hearing be held within the next month to determine a date for a retrial.

Kanmi, of Cromwell Street, denies two counts of soliciting to murder Mr Brown and Mr Blair.

He also pleaded not guilty to professing to belong to a terrorist organisation, namely al Qaida, inviting support to the same organisation, disseminating terrorist publications and collecting or making a record of information likely to be useful to a terrorist.