One of two men accused of plotting to make a chemical bomb for an attack in Britain has denied any involvement, his lawyer said today, as police continued to search his house.
The 20-year-old man was held during a dawn raid on Friday when more than 250 police officers, some in chemical suits, stormed the east London home.
His 23-year-old brother was shot in the shoulder during the raid, one of the biggest operations since last July's London suicide attacks, although police said it was not related.
Intelligence had suggested the house may have been used to make a toxic bomb for an attack in Britain, police sources said.
"My client denies any involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism or anything to do with explosives or firearms," the 20-year-old's lawyer Julian Young told reporters.
"To date I have seen no evidence showing that he has been, literally no evidence."
Police said today they were concentrating their search on the suspects' house in London's Forest Gate, an ethnically mixed area with a sizeable Muslim population. They searched the men's workplaces on Saturday.
Officers are looking for "some form of viable chemical device" that could kill -- a conventional bomb laced with toxic material, a police source told Reuters.
Young said he had been given no details about the supposed plot. He also rejected other newspaper reports that suggested his client had shot his brother in a scuffle with police.
"As far as I'm aware, there is no truth in this," he said.