Starmer joins packed St Paul's memorial service on anniversary of 7/7 London bombings

BBC News

16 hours ago

Update:
Date: 11:50 BST
Title: Mayor of London reads a passage from the Bible
Content: Back inside the Cathedral, we've just finished hearing from the mayor of London.
Sadiq Khan stood at the front of St Paul's to read a short passage from the Bible.
"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known," Khan reads.
Candles on long sticks were then carried along the central aisle of St Paul's Cathedral as a woman sang.
Update:
Date: 11:47 BST
Title: Badenoch, Khan and Duchess of Edinburgh attend service
Content: Before the memorial service got under way, we received a couple more pictures of some of the noteworthy figures joining the packed Cathedral.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, the Duchess of Edinburgh and Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, were all seen a short while ago before taking their seats inside.
Update:
Date: 11:44 BST
Title: Memorial service under way inside St Paul's Cathedral
Content: Inside St Paul's a section of music played as people took their seats underneath the Cathedral's famous dome.
The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral Andrew Tremlett started the memorial service by saying they are marking the "solemn anniversary of an act of terror inflicted on our city on this day 20 years ago".
He adds: "We come to honour the memory of those who died, to stand by the survivors and to give thanks to those who responded with courage and compassion."
This was followed by another reading and then more music from the choir.
Update:
Date: 11:36 BST
Title: Starmer and former PM May arrive at St Paul's Cathedral
Content: The memorial service is now under way inside St Paul's Cathedral.
Let's bring you some of the latest images which have come to us in the last few moments.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May is seen arriving at St Paul's Cathedral prior to the memorial service
Representatives of the Salvation Army, London Ambulance Service, Metropolitan Police and London Underground line the steps
Update:
Date: 11:29 BST
Title: Bells of St Paul's signal start of memorial service
Content: London falls silent with only the sound of the bells of St Paul's Cathedral echoing across the capital.
The tolling bells signal the start of the memorial service.
A reminder, you can watch live to coverage by clicking Play at the top of this page.
Update:
Date: 11:28 BST
Title: The victims of the Tavistock Square attack
Content: The youngest of the bombers, Hasib Hussain, detonated his device on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, not far from King's Cross.
The bombing, the fourth and final attack, took place at 09:47 BST - about an hour after the other explosions.
The number 30 bus was torn apart in front of the headquarters of the British Medical Association, where a conference was being held. While medical equipment was lacking, dozens of doctors offered lifesaving expertise.
Thirteen people who were on the bus were killed. They were:
Click on their names to read their stories.
Update:
Date: 11:26 BST
Title: The victims of the Russell Square attack
Content: The most deadly attack occurred on the Piccadilly Line between King's Cross and Russell Square.
Germaine Lindsay detonated his bomb next to the rear set of double doors in the front carriage of the packed train, just after it pulled out of King's Cross station at 08:49.
Twenty-six people were killed. The victims were:
Click on their names to read their stories.
Update:
Date: 11:25 BST
Title: The victims of the Aldgate attack
Content: Shehzad Tanweer detonated his device on an eastbound Circle Line train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate at 08:49.
The explosion at the rear of the second carriage killed seven people.
The victims were:
Click on their names to read their stories.
Update:
Date: 11:23 BST
Title: The victims of the Edgware Road attack
Content: Ahead of the service we'll take a moment to remember those who died in the attacks.
Three of the four bombs went off just before 08:50 BST on Tube trains that had departed King's Cross.
Ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan detonated his device on a westbound Circle Line train heading towards Paddington.
The bomb exploded at Edgware Road in the second carriage close to the second set of double doors. It killed six people.
The victims were:
Click on their names to read their stories.
Update:
Date: 11:20 BST
Title: St Paul's Cathedral fills up ahead of memorial service
Content: Anna O'NeillBBC London, reporting from St Paul's Cathedral
This it the scene from St Paul's where people have started to arrive for the commemorative
service which will be starting shortly.
Seen
arriving at the church were members of the emergency services including assistant commissioner of London Fire Brigade, Patrick Gouldbourne, Dawn Butler
MP, as well as some of the survivors of the attacks and their families.
Update:
Date: 11:17 BST
Title: What's happened so far today
Content: Events have been taking place this morning to mark the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings that rocked central London, left 52 people dead and injured more than 700.
Here is what has taken place so far:
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will join political leaders in attending the National Service of Commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral which starts at 11:30.
Update:
Date: 11:14 BST
Title: People arrive at St Paul's Cathedral for memorial service
Content: Aisling TaylorReporting from St Paul's Cathedral
People are arriving at
St Paul's Cathedral where the main memorial service is due to start at
11:30.
Representatives of Transport for London and the
emergency services are lining the steps of the cathedral.
The service will be attended by survivors and
families of the victims, as well as the prime minister and other leading politicians.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are expected to
arrive shortly before the service begins.
Update:
Date: 11:08 BST
Title: 'I hope they realised they weren't alone'
Content: Karl MercerPolitical editor, BBC London
Craig Cassidy, who has been a paramedic with the London Ambulance Service since 1999, says seeing fatally injured people in the tunnel in Aldgate following the 7/7 bombings is seared into his memory.
"You cannot prepare for this kind of thing," he says. "You do what's in front of you, you deal with what you're presented with, knowing that you've never experienced this before, but you've got to get on with it.
"I put myself to one side. When I when I'm at work, I'm not Craig. I put my uniform on, I'm a different person, I'm a paramedic."
Reflecting on his involvement on the day, he adds: "I hope I did it well. I hope I gave some comfort to some of the people. I hope they realised that they weren't alone at that point.
"I've been back to that station many times because I still work in the same area. When I go back in, it's still present with me.
"Every one of them was someone's partner, someone's wife, someone's husband, someone's son. Parents should never bury a child, and I knew that was going to be happening."
Update:
Date: 10:59 BST
Title: Londoners displayed bravery and kindness on 7/7, says mayor
Content: Sir Sadiq Khan has been speaking to the BBC ahead of the commemoration event at St Paul's Cathedral.
The London mayor says he remembers the day of the bombings "vividly" and how he began calling around his family to check they were safe.
'Most of us use the Tube, most of us use the buses. None of
us knew whether our family and loved ones were safe. None of us knew if there'd
be further attacks that day," he says.
"What we did see were remarkable signs of kindness and bravery," the mayor adds.
Sir Sadiq praised the emergency services and transport workers who ran towards danger during the attacks, as well as civilians who acted as "guardian angels".
'That's who we are and that's what London is all about.
'What these terrorists
hate is our diversity, our way of life.
Update:
Date: 10:50 BST
Title: We will always remember them, says Conservative leader
Content: Kemi Badenoch is the latest political leader to pay tribute to the 52 victims and hundreds injured in the 7/7 attacks.
"Today, we stand with those who carry the pain of that day, the families, friends and colleagues of those who never came home," the Conservative leader says.
"We will remember them always."
Update:
Date: 10:42 BST
Title: 'My sister was killed that day and I'm still angry'
Content: The brother of a woman killed
on 7/7 says he cannot forgive those behind the bomb attacks, two decades on.
On 7 July 2005, 29-year-old Laura Webb was on her way to work in central London
when she was killed – one of 52 people who died in co-ordinated attacks on the
city.
Rob Webb, Laura's older brother, says 7/7 was "an attack on all of
us" and should never be forgotten.
"I remain angry," says Rob, who lives near Cardiff.
"Laura was denied the opportunity of a life that me and my brother have
been lucky enough to have - somebody decided to take that away from her.
"The pain never goes away - I think of her every day."
Read their story here.
Update:
Date: 10:36 BST
Title: 'That should not have been my Tube'
Content: James W KellyBBC London
As memorial events continue, those who were on the Tube that day continue to share their memories.
Sajda Mughal was among the passengers on the Piccadilly line train that left King's Cross.
'I was running late that morning so that should
not have been my Tube," she tells BBC Radio 5 Live.
'The Tube leaves King's Cross and it was only 10 seconds into the tunnel, towards Russell Square, it was a massive bang and the
train shook as if there'd been an earthquake and it came to a sudden halt."
She says the "screams just went on" after what she initially thought was a train derailment. "I never thought it was a bomb."
'My life changed 360 degrees. I went from
working in the corporate world - in my early 20s it was my dream to be in London - and then I started working at the grassroots because I wanted to change hearts
and minds so that it wouldn't happen again."
Update:
Date: 10:31 BST
Title: 'Amid the horror, we saw the best in people'
Content: We hear now from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the cabinet minister in charge of counter-terrorism, who says the UK will "always confront the threats facing this country".
"Twenty years have passed since 7/7 but the passage of time makes what happened that day no less shocking. It was an appalling attack on our capital city and on democracy itself," she says.
"Amid the horror of that day, we saw the best of people, our emergency services, first responders and ordinary Londoners who bravely acted to help one another."
Update:
Date: 10:23 BST
Title: BMA staff lay wreaths at Tavistock Square in emotional tribute
Content: Aisling TaylorReporting from Tavistock Square
At Tavistock Square British Medical Association (BMA) staff members have
been laying flowers under the memorial plaque in front of the BMA building.
Some staff members were visibly emotional as they paused to reflect on the
events 20 years ago.
This is
where the fourth and final device detonated on a bus killing 13 passengers
onboard.
After the blast, doctors inside the BMA building rushed out to help
those on the street in front of them.
Update:
Date: 10:17 BST
Title: 'I see the lead bomber's face to this day'
Content: Dominic CascianiHome and Legal Correspondent
Despite 20 years passing since the 7/7 attack, for Dan Biddle the emotional scarring is as constant a reminder as the physical trauma he was left with that day.
The face of the lead suicide bomber, Mohammad Sidique Khan, has never left his memory.
"I can be in the kitchen and he is stood in the garden," says Dan, who has complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
"He's there, dressed as he was on the day, holding the rucksack, just with his hand above it, about to detonate it again."
Even if Dan looks away, the bomber is still there when he looks back.
"I saw this guy literally disassemble himself in front of me, and now I'm seeing him again."
Read Dan's story here.