THERE WERE NO organisational failings involved in the deaths of 52 people in suicide bombings on the London transit system in 2005, a judge has ruled – a verdict that will disappoint the families of some of the victims.
Giving her verdict at an inquest, Judge Heather Hallett said the commuters were “unlawfully killed in a dreadful act of terrorism” by four suicide bombers apparently inspired by al-Qaeda.
The July 7, 2005 bombings of three trains on the London Underground, and a bus packed with commuters, were the worst terrorist attacks on British soil.
But Hallett said no “failings on the part of any organisation or individual caused or contributed to any of the deaths.”
“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that each of them would have died whatever time the emergency services had reached and rescued them,” she said.
Some victims’ families say only a full public inquiry can uncover all the details of the attacks, but Hallett said that would not be necessary. She said the inquest had been thorough and she hoped this would not be an end to the investigation.
Hallett praised the “quiet dignity” of the victims’ families, who have sat through graphic and detailed accounts of how their loved ones died during the five-month-long inquest which heard evidence form more than 300 witnesses.
Some families want the intelligence and emergency services to take some blame for the deaths. Britain’s domestic intelligence service had two of the bombers under surveillance but failed to stop the attacks.
The hearings also revealed failures in the emergency response — confusion, shortages of first aid supplies and radios that did not work underground.
Inquests cannot establish civil or criminal liability, but their recommendations to prevent future deaths carry considerable weight.
AP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say