07-07-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Abergavenny man hit by 7/7 bomb calls for public inquiry
Dan Biddle, from Abergavenny, who lost both legs in the blast on a Tube train at Edgware Road on July 7, 2005, has spoken out on the 20th anniversary of the attacks, which killed 52 people and injured more than 700.
Mr Biddle has described the long-lasting trauma of the day and criticised the Government's handling of the aftermath.
Talking to GB News, he said: "The Dan Biddle that I was at 8.52 on July 7 died at 8.52 on the 7th of July and I've had to reinvent myself and everything that I was trying to do.
"I've had to start afresh, and I've been incredibly lucky that my wife Gem is an amazing support and gets me through so much of it."
Mr Biddle, a former Pride of Gwent winner, has also criticised the Government's decision not to hold a public inquiry.
He said: "After 7/7, me and a lot of other people were calling for a public inquiry.
"We constantly have that shut down.
"And I think the reason I don't think London is any safer is because we didn't have the public inquiry."
Dan Biddle was named a Pride of Gwent winner in 2018 He has compared the lack of a 7/7 inquiry with other major incidents.
He said: "If you jump forward a few years, the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes had a public inquiry.
"The Manchester attack had a public inquiry.
"Grenfell had a public inquiry.
"All were absolutely wonderful and deserved it.
"7/7 was the first attack of its kind in this country.
"It was the biggest loss of life in a terrorist attack.
"It was a first suicide attack, and there were clear failings, yet no public inquiry."
Mr Biddle has also challenged the Government's narrative about the attack.
He said: "I think they're naïve given the arrogance of Tony Blair to think that you can go to war in a Middle Eastern country and it not have any repercussions on home soil.
"I think the fact that when Blair was interviewed, he turned around and said that there is no link between al-Qaeda and the 7/7 attacks, yet when Khan made his suicide video, he openly states that that is the reason."
Dan Biddle with his wife Gemma
Mr Biddle has now written a book about his experience, Back From the Dead: The Untold Story of the 7/7 Bombings.
He said: "I wanted to write a book to hopefully for somebody that's struggling to read that and go, yeah, there is a way through with the right support and the right people, I can potentially come through the other side of it."
He has also reflected on the personal choices that put him on the train that morning.
He said: "There's countless times where, if I'd have made a different decision, then I wouldn't have been on that train at that time.
"If I'd have got up on time, if I'd missed my stop.
"There's so many things that I can think back on and think if I knew, I'd have done this, if I never done that, but it serves no purpose now, because what's happened has happened."
