Plea deal for accused 9/11 plotters revoked by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin

US secretary of defense pulls rank and withdraws agreements for trio accused of involvement in 2001 terror attacks

The US secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, has revoked a plea deal for the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and two other defendants, reinstating them as death-penalty cases, according to a memo sent to Susan Escallier, who is overseeing the war court proceedings.

The short-lived deal came 16 years after prosecution of the three men began.