Four suspects accused of an attempted £10m Heathrow airport heist will face the first Crown Court trial without a jury, senior judges ruled on Thursday, triggering protests from human rights campaigners that a centuries-old freedom was being eroded.

The Court of Appeal said the trial over the 2004 armed robbery should be heard by a judge alone because of fears that even heavy police protection could not stop a jury being “nobbled” by intimidation or other means.