‘At least 50 dead’ in London attacks

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair has said that the final death toll for the London terror attacks will be “at least 50”, including thirteen people killed in the bus explosion in Tavistock Square.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning, Sir Ian said that there were still bodies to be recovered from the Tube train between King’s Cross and Russell Square.

However, it has now been confirmed that 13 people were killed in the bus explosion in Tavistock Square.

Sir Ian said that the victims of the explosions included people from Sierra Leone, Australia, Portugal, China and Poland, as well as Britons.

Andy Hayman, the head of the police’s anti-terrorist branch, said that the bombs had contained less than 10lbs of high explosives each. He said that they had probably been placed on the floors of the tube trains, and on the floor, or possibly a seat, of the bus.

There has been increasing speculation that the bus explosion was caused by a suicide bomber. A passenger on the bus, Richard Jones, told several newspapers that he had witnessed a man ‘fiddling in a bag’ on the Number 30 bus, shortly before it exploded.

However, Sir Ian said that there was still no evidence to suggest that suicide bombers had caused the explosions, although he said he was “not ruling it out”.

Four explosions – three on tube trains and one on a double-decker bus – rocked London during the rush hour on Thursday morning.

A massive police investigation has begun to find those responsible for the terrorist attacks.

Police are beginning to collect a massive amount of CCTV footage in an attempt to try and identify the bombers.

Sir Ian said he and his officers had an “implacable resolve” to catch those responsible for the attackers and would “bend every sinew” to do so.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said that a statement made on a website by the previously unknown Secret Organisation Group of al Qaeda of Jihad Organisation claiming responsibility for the attacks was being taken seriously by police.

On Thursday, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told reporters that the attacks bore all the hallmarks of an al Qaeda attack.

The transport system in London was returning to normal on Friday. Much of the tube system was operating as normal, after being closed all day on Thursday. However, there was a restricted service on some lines, including parts of the District, Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines. The Circle and Hammersmith & City lines remained closed.

All of the capital’s mainline train stations were open and buses were also operating normally, although there were diversions around the areas where the bomb attacks took place.

The Queen and Prince Charles have visited people injured in the attacks in hospital today.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has launched the London Bombings Relief Fund in association with the British Red Cross. He also announced that a book of condolence would be opened at City Hall on Monday.

Anyone who is concerned about relatives or friends who have still not been in contact, should contact the emergency hotline on: 0870 156 6344.

(KMcA/MB)