LONDON (Reuters) - Restrictions on carrying liquids onboard flights will remain in place, the government said yesterday, despite a jury in a major terrorism trial failing to find any conspiracy to target transatlantic aircraft.

Thousands of international flights were affected and liquids were banned from aircraft in 2006 after police said they had uncovered a plot to blow up planes midway across the Atlantic.

But yesterday a jury failed to convict eight suspects of planning to smuggle explosives onto half a dozen aircraft at London's Heathrow airport and blow them up.

Instead three men — Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain — were found guilty of conspiracy to kill using home-made liquid bombs, a lesser charge.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on four other defendants and the eighth was found not guilty on all charges.

A Department for Transport spokesman said in a statement:

"We base our rules on the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre's (JTAC's) latest assessment, the current national threat level remains at 'severe' which is defined as an attack is highly likely.

"The court case has proven that a generic capability exists to create liquid bombs from domestic items."

He added: "Aircraft could be vulnerable to such devices so we are right to continue to require restrictions for liquids carried as hand luggage.

"We are also right to require these restrictions internationally as, potentially, we are all at risk."

Since 2006, the ban on liquids has been partly lifted. Liquids, gels and aerosols are only allowed in individual containers of 100ml which must be carried in one, transparent bag.