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The Hindu
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Divine Art, Waitara, Run For The Sun, Mighty Hero and Aldgate impress
Divine Art, Waitara, Run For The Sun, Mighty Hero and Aldgate impressed when the horses were exercised here on Saturday morning (July 19) Inner sand: 600m: Assurance (rb), Star Honour (Siddaraju) 40. Former finished four lengths ahead. 1400m: Chicago Chimes (Koshi K), Golden Thunder (Bhawani) 1-38, 1,200/1-24, 1,000/1-9, 600/41. They moved freely. Outer sand: 600m: Highland Dreams (B. Nayak) 44. Moved well. Best Of Us (Suraj) 44.5. Easy. Shellacking (Qureshi) 45. Moved freely. 1000m: Dubai Safari (Qureshi) 1-11, 600/42. Strode out well. Aldgate (Antony) 1-11, 600/41.5. Pleased. Fils De France (Antony) 1-15, 600/44. Moved freely. Run For The Sun (Antony) 1-9.5, 600/41.5. Moved attractively. Ceremonial (Antony) 1-13, 600/45.5. Easy. Power Of Beauty (Anish) 1-13.5, 600/41. Moved fluently. Romping Home (Peter) 1-14.5, 600/44. Moved well. Divine Art (Suraj) 1-11, 600/41. A fine display. 1200m: Sir Winston (rb) 1-29.5, 1,000/1-12.5, 600/43.5. Worked well. Chinky Pinky (rb) 1-30.5, 1,000/1-14.5, 600/45. Easy. Victoria Doresaani (Rosario), Zeppelin (Arvind) 1-27.5, 1,000/1-11.5, 600/43. A notable pair. Never Give In (Antony) 1-27, 1,000/1-12, 600/42. Shaped well. Waitara (C. Umesh) 1-23.5, 1,000/1-8.5, 600/41. Responded well to the urgings. Elveden (Antony) 1-27.5, 1,000/1-13, 600/43. In fine trim. 1400m: Mighty Hero (C. Umesh) 1-42, 1,200/1-25, 1,000/1-9.5, 600/42. Impressed. Alamgir (Pavan), Zephyrine (Arvind) 1-46.5, 1,200/1-30.5, 1,000/1-15.5, 600/44.5. They moved on the bit. N R I Victory (Qureshi) 1-45.5, (1,400-600) 58.5. Eased up. Mayne Magic (Antony) 1-43.5, 1,200/1-27, 1,000/1-11.5, 600/42. In fine nick. Unforgettable Star (Prabhakaran) 1-45, 1,200/1-30, 1,000/1-15.5, 600/45. In fine shape. Outer sand - July 18: 600m: Bezawada Sultan (Bhawani) 46. Easy. 1200m: N R I Ace (Qureshi) 1-26, 1,000/1-12, 600/43.5. Pleased. Dun It Again (Sai Kiran), Laamika (G. Vivek) 1-24, 1,000/1-10, 60043. They moved impressively. N R I Victory (Qureshi) 1-31, (1,200-600) 44. Eased up. 1400m: Sativur (G. Vivek) 1-39, 1,200/1-24.5, 1,000/1-10, 600/41. A good display.
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
The London hotel with one of the city's best rooftop bars
FOR a luxurious stay right in the heart of London, Hotel Saint is the one to beat. Here is everything you need to know about the glam city hotel. 3 3 Where is the hotel? Hotel Saint, which opened in 2023, is right by Aldgate Station, as well as a short walk from Tower Bridge and other London attractions. What is the hotel like? While unassuming from the outside, the beautiful interiors make up for it on the inside with gold and black designs throughout. What are the rooms like? The hotel has 272 rooms to choose from, ranging from standard rooms to suites. Ranging from twin beds to king-size, each room has a desk and chair for anyone needing to do some work, as well as a 42inch LCD TV. A tea and coffee station as well as mini fridge and free water are included, as well as free toiletries. Leave your hairdryer and dressing gown at home too, with free ones to use in the room. Each room also has a large shower with lavish gold features, with suites even having a huge built in bathtub. Book three nights or more at Hotel Saint and get 15 per cent off your stay. Rooms start from £200 a night. What is there to eat and drink there? On the ground floor is the Cardinal Bar and Restaurant, serving a delicious range of Southeast Asian inspired dishes. The super soft chicken momo dumplings were packed with flavour, while the hearty butter beans and marinated cod was a warming dish. Best of British: London Leave room for the pistachio cheesecake, or one of it's many cocktails ranging from classic Espresso Martinis to a cool tequila-based Pineapple Picante. Stay for breakfast too, with all the classics including Full English and avocado toast as well as complimentary pastries, tea and coffee. which cost £20pp (or you can pay per item). Kids under five eat free. But for some amazing views, head to the Jin Bo Law Sky Bar. While not affiliated with the hotel, join the other post-work drinkers on floor 14 with some amazing cocktails overlooking the London skyline including the Shard, the Walkie Talkie, the Gherkin. I highly recommend the High Life #3 cocktail, with gin, prosecco and edible glitter. What else is there to do there? The hotel has a beautiful 24-hour gym, with full glass windows letting you people-watch while on the treadmill. Otherwise guests can make the most of some of London's top attractions in the nearby area, or hop on the Elizabeth line to go further afield. Is the hotel family-friendly? Parents can opt for one of two family suites, which have a master bedroom and separate living room with a pull-out sofa bed for kids. Otherwise some of the rooms have connecting doors to be opened for larger groups. Is there access for guests with disabilities? There are 14 accessible rooms on-site with wheelchair access, with all of the floors accessed by lift. Looking for a place to stay? For more hotel inspiration click here. 3
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Telegraph
Britain's craven appeasement of Islam is an insult to the victims of 7/7
Twenty years ago this week I was pottering in the kitchen when the phone rang. It was so long ago that the phone was a landline which sat on the worktop almost buried under school detritus. The caller was Laura, my children's babysitter, and a much-loved member of our extended family. Laura was gabbling, telling me not to worry. Something about being on the train but 'not that carriage'. What train? Why did the carriage matter? 'Laura, you're not making sense, slow down.' Normally, she was the kind of chipper, capable, gale-force girl you would have nominated for Best Person in a Crisis. 'Alli, I want you all to know I'm OK,' her voice broke and she hung up. It was a couple of hours before I understood. Laura had been caught up in a monstrous attack on our capital city by four Islamist terrorists, three of them second-generation Pakistani immigrants from Leeds. Laura was 22 years old and, on the morning of July 7 2005, she was on the way to work in the City with her mother, Katie, when a young man her own age called Shehzad Tanweer boarded their eastbound Circle line train and blew himself up. He murdered seven people and savagely injured 172 more. Down in the Aldgate tunnel it was a scene from Dante's Inferno. Flames shot up a pole close to where mother and daughter were standing. There was a stench of burning flesh. Tanweer had detonated a bomb in the next carriage. In the panic and carnage that ensued, Laura, a volunteer for St John's Ambulance, sought out the first aid kit. When she finally got the box open, all that was inside was an ice-scraper. It was the first, but not the last, time that day that the system would let the people down. Laura wanted to go into the neighbouring 'bomb carriage' to help the wounded, but her mother refused point blank. Some deep instinct told Katie that, whatever was in that hellish place of smoke and screams, her child would not be able to bear it. Laura busied herself ripping up clothing to make slings, tended the injured as best she could, and waited. And waited. Surely, help would come soon? It did not. A single image would haunt Laura. A man in his underpants (the rest of his clothes had been blown off) was kneeling by the side of the track as the dazed survivors walked past him. The charred figure looked as if he was covered in a thick layer of pitch-black tar through which blood was bubbling up. Laura wanted to stay and comfort him, but she was already taking care of two girls and her mum. She walked ahead of them, kicking a chunk of body out of the way before the others could see it. 'I can get mum up to the surface and come back for him,' she told herself. For years after, when Laura thought of the man in the tunnel, she cried with shame that she didn't do something. I will never forget how distressed our brave young friend was by what she saw as the failure of the emergency services to get to the survivors quickly enough. 'I honestly felt like they'd left us to die,' she said. When Laura and her stricken little platoon finally got to the surface, over an hour after the explosion, our respectful, law-abiding babysitter saw a police officer and greeted him: 'About time. Where the hell have you been?' A City broker called Michael Henning concurred. In 2010, he told the 7/7 inquest that victims had suffered agonising deaths of 20, 30, 40 minutes. When Mr Henning eventually made it to the surface, he saw a group of firefighters and shouted: 'Why aren't you down there? There are people dying.' The firefighters turned their backs and seemed too embarrassed to look at him, although he claims one young fireman admitted they were worried about a second bomb. Mr Henning contrasted the risk-averse rules of contemporary Britain with the spontaneous courage shown by his grandfather's rescue team during the Blitz. 'They didn't worry about unexploded [German] bombs. They would go in even if the building was on fire.' To be fair, the emergency services have always denied that staff put their own safety before that of trapped passengers (it is revealing, I think, that some of the bravest rescuers that day were off-duty emergency workers who were free to ignore protocols). But in his book Into the Darkness: An Account of 7/7, Peter Zimonjic stated for the record: 'An ambulance would not arrive at the entrance to Aldgate station until 24 minutes after the explosion. The paramedics would not get into the tunnels for a further 25 minutes after that.' The charred man Laura had seen was left alone with his fear and his unimaginable anguish. This is not the heroic account of July 7 that the authorities chose to recall. But, two decades on, that abandonment of the dying and the shell-shocked works pretty well as a metaphor for the British state's cowardly handling of the Islamist threat, I think. Bury it deep, then, when something awful happens, as it inevitably will, claim that 'we did everything we possibly could', and, if British people get angry that such barbaric fanatics are let into our country in huge numbers, blame those people for causing division and hate. We saw that playbook in full swing on the 20th anniversary of the atrocities this week. Yes, the commemorative service at St Paul's, where relatives broke down as they read out the names of the victims, was hauntingly lovely, with white petals falling like blossom from the cathedral's dome. But the dead were dishonoured by the official denial and deflection found in the consoling platitudes carefully chosen to mark the occasion. The King and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, both preferred to accentuate the positive, of communities coming together, and never once mentioned the ideology that inspired the carnage. Charles spoke euphemistically of 'tragic events'. As if a blood-curdling assault on the Western way of life were some sort of road-traffic accident, not the most devastating Islamist-planned attack since 9/11 (two of the London bombers had made recent trips to Pakistan). The King is a good man who only wants the best for everybody, but he can be painfully naïve when it comes to the Islamist threat which is apparent to his increasingly alarmed subjects. Privately, millions of Britons have come to agree with Enoch Powell on overwhelming levels of immigration from hostile, incompatible cultures: 'It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre.' Mayor Khan, who has allowed supporters of jihad to occupy our capital every weekend shouting vile anti-Semitic slogans, said: 'I have a clear message for those who seek to spread division and sow hatred – you will never win… We will always choose hope over fear and unity over division as we continue building a safer London for everyone.' Seriously – a safer London? Who was it, two decades ago, that set out to 'spread division and sow hatred'? If you are a simple soul like me, you might assume the haters were the ones with bombs in their backpacks. It was clearly too awkward, though, for the Mayor to refer specifically to the British-born Muslims who despised our country so much they set out to kill as many innocent people as possible. Khan's is an attitude brilliantly satirised by the late comedian Norm Macdonald who tweeted: 'What terrifies me is if ISIS was to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50 million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims!' We may laugh at that, but after every single terrorist attack on British soil, the official tactic remains the same: swivel attention, with indecent haste, away from the appalling suffering of the victims and on to the 'racists', the so-called 'far-Right' who we are told will use the opportunity to stir up anti-Muslim feeling. (Look at the draconian crackdown after the Southport massacre of little girls on armchair tweeters like Lucy Connolly, while a police officer told Muslim counter-protesters to 'discard [any weapons] at the mosque' to avoid being arrested!) Invariably, the Home Secretary and the BBC will then mention the 'terror threat from the far-Right', pretending it is equivalent. The facts beg to differ. Since the 7/7 London bombings, Islamist extremists have killed over 40 people in the UK; the far-Right has killed three. The vast majority of suspects on MI5's terror watchlist are jihadists – around 43,000, which equals about one in a hundred Muslims in the UK. Seventeen months after the 2005 atrocities, prime minister Tony Blair gave an impressively hard-hitting lecture on religious tolerance and cultural assimilation. As good as admitting Labour's favoured multiculturalism project had failed, Blair called on Muslims to integrate into British society, warning that British values take precedence over any cultural traditions or faiths. 'Belief in democracy, the rule of law, tolerance, equal treatment for all, respect for this country and its shared heritage – that is where we come together, it is what we hold in common; it is what gives us the right to call ourselves British. At that point no distinctive culture or religion supersedes our duty to be part of an integrated United Kingdom.' Blair conceded that 'there are extremists in other communities. But the reason we are having this debate is not generalised extremism. It is a new and virulent form of ideology associated with a minority of our Muslim community. It is not a problem with Britons of Hindu, Afro-Caribbean, Chinese or Polish origin.' Such honesty has rarely been repeated by our political class, which, in the intervening years, seems to have become increasingly afraid of what they have unleashed. When he became prime minister, David Cameron did tell me what had shocked him most was being told about 'the scale of the Islamist terror threat'. You won't hear anything like that from Sir Keir Starmer, who mentioned the risk of becoming 'an island of strangers' in a recent speech – one of the few true things that slithery, shapeshifter has uttered – but then imaginatively claimed not to have read the speech too closely. Fear of losing Labour's Muslim vote seems to have eclipsed the fear of Britain disintegrating. Tony Blair outlined six ways multiculturalism and integration could be promoted, including a crackdown on foreign preachers (imams spouting hatred of the West), investigation of forced marriages, and the refusal of some mosques to allow women to worship there and to participate more generally. The government would also demand a 'shared common language' and 'allegiance to the rule of law; nobody can legitimately ask to stand outside the law of the nation'. How well did all that work out? Well, imams are still spouting anti-Semitic and anti-British rhetoric. Young men from Pakistani-origin communities are put on trial for mass rape and explain they have been taught by their religious authorities to regard white girls as 'chewing gum in the road'. There are now at least 85 sharia councils in the UK. Not legally recognised courts, in theory they do not have the authority to overrule British law, but the fact they exist at all should be anathema to an equal justice system. As for a 'shared common language', the census of 2011 found there were around 846,000 Muslim women living in England; of those, almost 190,000, or 22 per cent, said that they could speak English 'not well' (152,000) or 'not at all' (38,000). (Some 90,000 Muslim men, or 10 per cent, said the same.) More up-to-date figures are hard to come by, but as the practice of importing virgin brides from Pakistan and Bangladesh continues unchallenged, it is hard to imagine that situation has improved much. In fact, as recent figures cited by Prof Matt Goodwin make clear, the establishment of de facto ghettos and alienation from the mainstream proceeds apace. In Luton, 79 per cent of babies have at least one foreign-born parent, Slough (78 per cent), Leicester (71 per cent). Blair's hope of full Muslim integration into British society is now a distant pipe dream. But don't worry, folks! Deputy PM Angela Rayner is working on a new legal definition of Islamophobia, so very soon the problem will go away. Because we will be jailed if we mention anything to do with 'Muslimness'. Twenty years after one of the most heinous terror attacks in British history, our borders are effectively open. Some 20,000 undocumented young males from backward, misogynistic cultures, often exporters of Islamist violence, have entered the UK by boat since the start of this year, and are being seeded in towns up and down the land to try and hide them from a furious populace that is done with immigration. There is now overt sectarianism in Parliament, with Muslim MPs forming their own political alliance with Jeremy Corbyn, trying to affect British foreign policy in favour of Islamic fundamentalists. Another unholy alliance of far-Left, woke Corbynists, Hamas supporters and Greens is poised to form a new party – working title: Jezbollah. On the anniversary of 7/7, I asked someone who was operationally very senior in counter terrorism, both nationally and internationally: 'How bad is the Islamist threat today compared to July 2005?' 'The truth is the threat has grown inexorably,' he replied. 'Perversely, the reason why there are no real terror attacks now is because we are better at monitoring them since the London attack, but also because they are getting what they want. We are where they want us to be. We have their religion enshrined outside of UK law and their community leaders have got the police under control. They are wily; when they see do-gooders they walk all over them. Like the scorpion and the frog it is what they do. The numbers are now so huge that our own government has sleepwalked into a nightmare of extraordinary proportions. They are building while we are continually lying to ourselves.' This former senior figure in counter-terrorism is one of many people who now talk openly about the chilling possibility of civil war in this country. Let's hope it never comes to that, but, at the very least, it is hard not to feel huge sorrow at how the memory of the 7/7 victims has been betrayed by the craven appeasement of our worst enemy. Our institutions may be cowardly, but individual strength and determination remain. At the 7/7 inquest all those years ago, a softly spoken man called Philip Duckworth said he had been thrown by the blast from Shehzad Tanweer's suicide bomb out of the doors of the carriage at Aldgate and into the tunnel. He was blind in one eye because he had been hit by a splinter from the bomber's shin bone. Lying semi-conscious on the track, Philip heard someone say: 'Leave him, he's gone.' So incensed was he, that he hauled himself up on to his knees and willed himself to live. Our wonderful, brave Laura walked past him at that defiant moment of resurrection. Yes, it was the charred man, back from the dead. That kind of courage is in the DNA of our people, and it has served us well all these centuries; no terrorists or alien creed will vanquish it, nor take our country from us.
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Telegraph
‘We'll never forget': How London marked the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings
Thelma Stober was drifting in and out of consciousness by the time two men appeared, coming towards her through the darkness carrying a stretcher. She was trapped underneath the carriage at Aldgate station; part of the train door was impaled in her right thigh, and her left foot was twisted backwards. Terrified she would be presumed dead and left behind, she had tried to wriggle to safety but found she couldn't move. Two men – her 'guardian angels', as she now calls them – spotted her in the wreckage. One stayed with her and kept her talking, the other went to get help. 'Eventually, after what seemed like such a long time, two men came with a stretcher and took me out.' But it wasn't until today, 20 years later, at a service at St Paul's Cathedral, that Stober met the men who carried her to safety. Standing outside the cathedral, moments after meeting them inside, she seems quietly stunned. 'In January, when the BBC programme [about the 7/7 attacks] came out, I saw myself for the first time being taken on a stretcher up the stairs out of the station,' she says. 'They were the ones.' Stober, who lost a foot in the attack and suffered internal injuries, was 38-years-old on July 7 2005 when she stepped onto a Tube to go to work and, unknowingly, stood next to a man called Shehzad Tanweer. Tanweer was about to detonate one of four bombs that would bring death and devastation to the capital in a coordinated attack – the worst act of terrorism Britain had seen since Lockerbie, and the country's first Islamist suicide attack. Stober's life changed irrevocably that day, and tied her for evermore to those four strangers who helped her, as well as the 770 who were wounded and the 52 who lost their lives. When the bomb went off, Stober, a lawyer who had spent the previous night celebrating London winning the 2012 Olympics, having worked on the bid, was thrown onto the tracks. 'When I woke up and I found myself partially underneath the train, I tried to get up. When there's a disaster, they try to save people who are alive, so I thought if I was still lying there they would think that I was dead,' she says. Tony Silvestro, a plain clothes police officer, spotted her. 'He said 'lie down because you might have significant internal injuries.'' Moments later, Colin Pettet, a passenger who was unharmed, noticed Stober as he was being escorted across the tracks and made a beeline for her. 'He came and sat by me and used his jacket to cover me because my clothes were burnt. He kept asking me questions. 'What's your name? Are you married?' 'I remember it vividly. I said to him, 'Why did you ask me all those questions?' What I found out is that I was in and out of consciousness, and he was trying to keep me alive.' Pettet would later tell an inquest how he struggled to find help for Stober, saying she was, 'screaming to me that she was dying'. Prince William comforts the families of victims Outside the cathedral, where the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Sir Keir Starmer joined mourners to mark the anniversary, Pettet finds Stober to tell her how brave she has been. In the service, she stood before the congregation with Saba Edwards, the daughter of Behnaz Mozakka, who died in the King's Cross bomb, and read out the names of all those who lost their lives. While they spoke, 52,000 white paper petals floated from the dome of St Paul's over people's heads, spiralling slowly to the ground like gentle snowfall. Pettet and Stober embrace. She calls over her son, Lewis, to have him take a photograph of them. 'You've got taller since I last saw you,' she tells Pettet. 'You've got shorter,' he replies. They part ways – Stober has to get across town for the next service in Hyde Park, where she will accompany Prince William in a wreath-laying ceremony at the 7/7 memorial. They smile at one another and wave goodbye, their eyes conveying what words cannot. At a series of memorial services across the capital, attended by survivors, victims' families, and members of the emergency services, there was a shared disbelief that two decades have passed since that terrible day, when terror ripped through London. The day began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the 7/7 memorial, attended by the Prime Minister, London Mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, and Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Mark Rowley. The service of commemoration at St Paul's followed, with Tony Blair, who was prime minister at the time of the attack, Theresa May and Kemi Badenoch among the congregation. Later, at the memorial in Hyde Park, Prince William joined a smaller gathering – just survivors and bereaved family members – for an intimate ceremony where the Prince sat among mourners and listened to speeches. Afterwards, he seemed to melt into the crowd, putting his arm around those that needed comfort, taking pictures with others, and offering words of solace to people who appreciated his presence. Martin Hart lost his father, Giles, in the bus explosion in Tavistock Square. The Prince stood talking to him and his girlfriend, Lauren Malone, for a few minutes after the service. 'He asked who we were here for, which I thought was really nice,' says Malone. 'He didn't just say hello and walk away, he asked who we were here for and asked us how we were feeling. We were really grateful for his time and attention. 'He spoke about how it's great to see the power of community and wished us well. He felt like a participant rather than someone off to the side which I appreciated.' For Hart, the anniversary is always a 'tough' day. 'But it's good to be around people with similar stories.' Kemi Lasisi-Ajao, who works in Transport for London's incident care team, was working in the Royal London Hospital on July 7, and was inspired to work for TfL after seeing the victims coming through accident and emergency. She joined two months later. She told the PA news agency that it was an honour to meet the Prince, telling him how she had shaken the late Queen's hand when she visited after the attack. He responded: 'Wow, are you kidding? Twenty years ago you met my grandmother.' Stober sat next to the Prince, who appeared to be a reassuring presence at her side during this final, emotional event of the day. Addressing the crowd, she spoke of her continued disbelief that what had been a 'beautiful blue sky morning' had turned to devastation. She spoke of the injuries she still lives with (in 2019, shrapnel was found lodged in her brain) and described what happened as 'an assault on fundamental democratic principles that are essential to a free society.' You could quite understand why, after all this time, she might not want to stand in front of hundreds of people and once again go over the trauma she experienced. But earlier in the day, at St Paul's, Stober, 58, tells The Telegraph why she feels it is essential to tell her story. 'I can stand here today and talk to you,' she says. 'Fifty-two people were killed by a reckless act of evil. As we read their names, 52,000 petals were dropped. Even though they are not with us, we'll never forget them. 'When I speak, I speak not just on behalf of the survivors, but also on behalf of those who lost their lives. 'At the end of the day, as much as we've got challenges to navigate, we're here. Those are lives lost. Parents, children, lost forever. What would their lives have been today? They've never had that opportunity.' During the service at St Paul's, the Very Rev Andrew Tremlett, the Dean of St Paul's, spoke of 7/7 as 'a moment that left deep scars in the soul of our capital'. He urged a renewal of a 'shared commitment to peace, justice and reconciliation', while Dame Sarah Mullally, the Rt Rev Bishop of London, spoke of the 'extraordinary spirit of survival' displayed by Londoners that day. Philip Duckworth, a survivor of the Aldgate bomb, said a prayer 'for all those who witnessed devastation, and for those whose lives were forever changed'. For many, the day offered the chance to reconnect with people they may not have seen since the last major memorial 10 years ago. Jo, a counsellor who supported bereaved families and survivors in the immediate aftermath of the attack, came to pay her respects to 'the people that had gone', and to see 'how the people who were left behind were doing'. 'We were all part of that same journey. It will be [with them] for their whole life. You never forget it, you just become accustomed to it. It never really goes away.' Mick Ellis was the incident commander at Holloway fire station on the day of the attack. The things he saw that day have never left him. 'Years of training, years of preparation. You never believe it will happen, and then on that morning I can remember turning into Upper Wayward Place and sitting in the front knowing you were in charge of it, and just thinking: it's happened. It's finally happened.' He recalls instructing his team to get all the equipment ready while he walked through the wreckage of the bus in Tavistock Square, surveying the scene. 'It was probably the longest walk I've ever done. Everyone was on the floor. It was just not something you can absorb. Everything goes in slow motion. Your brain is trying to compute what's happening and just slows everything down. And then the noise comes.' He will never forget one man in particular, a young man called Sam Ly, who had been sitting on the top deck and later died of his injuries. 'He was in a tragic state. But I vividly remember him saying to me, 'I was only going to work, all I was doing was going to work'. 'And he couldn't comprehend – nor could any of us – what had happened.'
Glasgow Times
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
King and Prime Minister lead nation remembering horror of July 7 bombings
In a message to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks, Charles said comfort can be taken from the 'spirit of unity' in London and the country more broadly, which has allowed the nation to heal. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said 'those who tried to divide us failed' adding 'we stood together then, and we stand together now'. On July 7 2005, four suicide bombers struck the capital's transport network, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770 on three London Underground trains and a bus. Composite of handout photographs of some of the victims of the London terrorist attacks on July 7 2005, top row from left, victims of the Russell Square bomb: Helen Jones, 28; Ciaran Cassidy, 22; Gamze Gunoral, 24; Christian Small; Karolina Gluck. Second row from left, victims of the Russell Square bomb: Couple Lee Harris, 30, and Samatha Badham, 36; Atique Sharifi, 24; Elizabeth Daplyn, 20; Adrian Johnson, 37; Monika Suchocka, 23. Third row from left, victims of the Russell Square bomb: Susan Levy, 53; James Mayes, 28; James Adams; Rachelle Yuen; Ihab Slimane,19. Fourth row from left, victims of the Tavistock Square bomb: Shyanuja Parathasangary; Giles Hart; Anthony Fatayi-Williams; Marie Hartley; Miriam Hyman. Fifth row from left: victims of the Tavistock Square bomb Jamie Gordon and Neetu Jain; victims of the Aldgate bomb Richard Gray, Benedetta Ciaccia and Richard Ellery. Bottom row from left: Aldgate bomb victim Fiona Stevenson; Edgware Road bomb victims David Foulkes, Jonathan Downey, Laura Webb and Jennifer Nicholson (PA) The King has asked for the country to reaffirm its commitment to building a society of all faiths and backgrounds, standing against those who seek to divide us. He said: 'Today, as we mark 20 years since the tragic events of 7th July 2005, my heartfelt thoughts and special prayers remain with all those whose lives were forever changed on that terrible summer's day. 'We remember with profound sadness the 52 innocent people who were killed in senseless acts of evil – and the enduring grief of their loved ones. The scene in Tavistock Square, central London, after the attack on a double decker bus (PA) 'We recall, too, the hundreds more who carry physical and psychological scars, and pray that their suffering may ease as the years pass. 'In doing so, we should also remember the countless stories of extraordinary courage and compassion that emerged from the darkness of that day. 'The selfless bravery of our emergency services, transport workers, and fellow citizens who rushed towards danger to help strangers reminds us of the very best of humanity in the face of the very worst.' Other members of the royal family are to join services and memorials to mark the anniversary. The Prince of Wales carries a wreath during a service at the July 7 memorial in Hyde Park (PA) On behalf of the King, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will attend the National Service of Commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral from 11.30am on Monday. The King also stressed the importance of communities coming together in times of adversity. Flowers left by the July 7 memorial plaque at Aldgate Station, London (PA) He said: 'While the horrors will never be forgotten, we may take comfort from the way such events rally communities together in solidarity, solace and determination. 'It is this spirit of unity that has helped London, and our nation, to heal. 'As we remember those we lost, let us therefore use this 20th anniversary to reaffirm our commitment to building a society where people of all faiths and backgrounds can live together with mutual respect and understanding, always standing firm against those who would seek to divide us.' Sir Keir said: 'Today the whole country will unite to remember the lives lost in the 7/7 attacks, and all those whose lives were changed forever. 'We honour the courage shown that day— the bravery of the emergency services, the strength of survivors, and the unity of Londoners in the face of terror. 'Those who tried to divide us failed. We stood together then, and we stand together now— against hate and for the values that define us of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: '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. 'As we come together to mark this anniversary, my thoughts remain with the victims, survivors and all who loved them. 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. Their courage continues to inspire us. 'We will always confront the threats facing this country to keep the public safe and preserve our way of life.'
