07/07/2008

7/7 Dead Remembered

Tributes have been paid to the 52 victims of the '7/7' suicide bombings in London in 2005 today.

Hundreds of people including commuters, survivors and victim's families have crammed into King's Cross stations to commemorate the dead on this the third anniversary of the 7th July outrage.

Minister for London Tessa Jowell and London Mayor Boris Johnson also took part in the ceremony by laying flowers outside the station at 8.50am - the time the first three bombs exploded.

The three bombs exploded within 50 seconds of each other at rush hour - intended to cause maximum impact.

Friends and relatives of the victims will also visit the sites of four blasts - Russell, Aldgate and Edgware Road Tube stations and a bus in Tavistock square.

Four suicide bombers detonated devices in the terror campaign.

They were Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Germaine Lindsay, 19 and Hasib Husssain, 18.

Ms Jowell said "people have shown great courage in the progress they have made in moving forward with their lives since the atrocities of three years ago".

She added that "this formal act" will "ensure that those lost will never be forgotten".

Over 700 people were also injured in the attacks that ripped through the London transport system.

It is understood that compensation claims have yet to be paid out to 73 victims.

However, it is reported that The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) said £7.5 million has been paid out to victims and relatives.

A CICA spokesperson said "we aim to resolved all these applications as soon as possible".

Mayor Johnson has written to Ms Jowell asking the Government to ensure the backlog is dealt with "immediately".

Raj Babbra, 31, will use the occasion to premiere a film he made about his former partner and friend, Benedetta Ciaccia, who was killed in the Aldgate blast.

Mr Babbra hopes that the 40-minute documentary named 7/7: Life Without Benedetta, will illustrate to people "what it means to lose a loved one so violently".

Mr Babbra said that the first anniversary of the attack was "extremely difficult".

The fatal attacks constituted the largest and deadliest of terrorist attacks on London in its history.

(DS)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

15 February 2008
Man Arrested Over London Taxi Rapes
Police investigating a series of attacks in London by a rapist who picks up his victims in a black taxi cab have arrested a man. Scotland Yard confirmed that the suspect, who is aged in his 40s, was arrested at an address in southeast London. He is currently being questioned.
11 July 2005
First victims named in London bomb attacks
The first victims of Thursday’s terrorist attacks in London have been formally identified, as police announced that a search has been conducted in a suspect's flat in Poland. Susan Levy, 53, from Hertfordshire, died in the explosion on the Tube train between King’s Cross and Russell Square.
08 May 2009
Man Jailed For Attempted Murder Of Pc
A south London man has been jailed for 25 years for tying to shoot a policeman. Michael Mitchell, 32, of Babington Road, Streatham, was convicted of attempting to murder Pc Shaun Callow, possession of a firearm and possession of drugs with intent to supply.
11 July 2008
Three Further Deaths In Stab Epidemic
Three young men have died within hours of being stabbed in knife attacks in close proximity to each other in London. A 19-year-old, who has not been named, suffered multiple stab wounds in Edmonton, north London. Later on Thursday, two men aged in their 20s were murdered in attacks in Leyton and Walthamstow, east London.
09 August 2013
Vans Targeting Illegal Immigrants To Be Investigated By ASA
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is to investigate vans that were driven around London encouraging illegal immigrants to "go home". The advertising vans were commissioned by the Home Office, who have claimed them to have been successful while not reporting on how many people had left the country.