UK opens investigation into July 7 bombing deaths

[October 11, 2010]  LONDON (AP) -- A long-delayed inquest into the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings that killed 52 people on London's transit network opened Monday with a minute's silence in memory of the victims.

The coroner, lawyers, members of the public and relatives of the victims stood in silent tribute as hearings opened at London's Royal Courts of Justice into one of Britain's deadliest terrorist attacks.

Lawyer Hugo Keith read out the names of all those who died when four suicide bombers detonated devices hidden in knapsacks aboard three subway trains and a double-decker bus.

"It is the saddest of duties to open their inquests," Keith said.

He said the bombs struck down British nationals as well as foreigners "with no regard to whether the victim was Christian, Muslim, a follower of any of our other great faiths, an adherent to none."

"They were acts of mindless savagery which could only outline the sheer inhumanity of the perpetrators," Keith added.

The hearings are expected to last five months and will look at whether the emergency services' response was adequate and whether the intelligence services and police could have prevented the attacks.

The inquest was delayed pending the prosecution of three people accused of helping the attackers choose their targets. They were found innocent of the charge last year, clearing the way for these proceedings to begin.

British inquests are fact-finding inquiries that take place when a person dies violently or under unusual circumstances. They can't establish civil or criminal liability, but in this case the investigation will give families of victims the chance to ask officials if more could have been done to prevent the attacks.

Ros Morley, whose husband Colin died in the bombing of a subway train near Edgware Road subway station, said she hoped the inquest would reveal whether mistakes had been made.

"Innocent citizens in the U.K. and worldwide need to know that they are protected now and in the future," she said. "I hope it is possible to gain something positive out of a deeply tragic event in which 52 innocent people lost their lives."

Some victims' relatives have expressed concern that the intelligence services will cite security concerns to avoid giving evidence in public.

The coroner, senior judge Heather Hallett, said she would "balance carefully the needs of national security with relevance and fairness."

"It is in the interests of everyone that these inquests are conducted in as open a manner as possible," she said.

She said she had yet to decide whether to hear some evidence in private.

[Associated Press; By JILL LAWLESS]

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