Brothers Abul Koyair and Mohammed Abdul Kahar have protested their innocence, according to their lawyers, after they were arrested under the Terrorism Act during a dawn raid on Friday in Forest Gate, east London.

The Metropolitan Police have released few details about the suspects and declined to comment on news reports that experts were searching for evidence of chemical or biological weapons.

Solicitor Julian Young, representing Koyair, on Sunday accused the police of organising a "cover-up" and said that he had not seen any evidence of terrorism against his client.

Young also drew a direct comparison with the Stockwell tube shooting last July, when police were heavily criticized for shooting dead an innocent Brazilian, Jean-Charles de Menezes, in the wake of bomb attacks on London's transport system.

"The phrases 'cover-up' and 'Stockwell' spring to mind," Young told reporters outside Paddington Green high-security police station.

Asked about reports of a chemical bomb plot, he said: "I know nothing. This has not been disclosed to me."

According to Sunday's News of the World tabloid, which cited security sources, a "scuffle" broke out with two armed police officers during the raid, when Kohair made a grab for a police gun, which had its safety catch off.

"In the desperate struggle that followed, the gun was fired and the bullet hit 23-year-old mail worker Abdul Kahar in the shoulder," the paper reported.