London jury acquits former ICAP broker Darrell Read in Libor trial

LONDON (Reuters) - Former ICAP (IAP.L) broker Darrell Read was on Thursday cleared by a London jury of conspiring with convicted trader Tom Hayes to manipulate benchmark interest rates, dealing a final blow to the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) latest Libor prosecution.

Read's five co-defendants Colin Goodman, Danny Wilkinson, Terry Farr, James Gilmour and Noel Cryan, were on Wednesday also cleared of conspiracy to rig the London interbank offered rate (Libor), which helps determine borrowing costs for about $450 trillion of contracts and consumer loans worldwide.

The final verdict, which prompted cheers from the courtroom, came less than two days after the jury retired following a four-month trial. All five brokers acquitted on Wednesday appeared in court to support Read.

The acquittals have sparked debate in legal circles as to whether the SFO should re-examine its evidence in two other prosecutions of people for alleged financial benchmark rigging.

(Reporting By Kirstin Ridley, editing by Sinead Cruise)