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 Relatives of the victims, survivors, and senior politicians
gathered to remember those killed in the July 7 2005 bombings with
emotions still raw after a massacre in Tunisia last month, Britain's
worst loss of life in a militant assault since London.
"Today the country comes together to remember the victims of one of
the deadliest terrorist atrocities on mainland Britain," Cameron
said in a statement.
"Ten years on from the 7/7 London attacks, the threat from terrorism
continues to be as real as it is deadly – the murder of 30 innocent
Britons whilst holidaying in Tunisia is a brutal reminder of that
fact. But we will never be cowed by terrorism."
In the early hours of July 7 a decade ago, four young British
Muslims traveled down to London where they detonated homemade bombs
hidden in rucksacks on three underground trains and a bus during the
morning rush-hour.
 Inspired by al Qaeda, they killed themselves and 52 other people and
wounded around 700 others. Citizens from Poland, Israel, Australia,
France, Italy, Afghanistan, Nigeria, New Zealand and a
Vietnamese-American were among the victims.
Cameron and London mayor Boris Johnson stood silently, heads bowed,
before laying a wreath at the 7/7 memorial in Hyde Park. They will
later join other senior figures, victims' families, survivors and
members of the emergency services caught up in the bombings for a
service of remembrance at St Paul's Cathedral.
This will include a national minute of silence, which comes just
four days after Britain paid a similar tribute to those killed when
an Islamist gunman opened fire at the Tunisian resort of Sousse.
"LEARNING LESSONS"
A further service will be held later at the memorial site for
survivors and relatives which Prince William, Queen Elizabeth's
grandson, will attend.
Esther Hyman, 46, whose sister Miriam was killed on the Number 30
bus when it was blown up at Tavistock Square, told Reuters many
young people seemed unaware of the bombings.
"The events of 7/7 do seem to have slipped out of public
consciousness," said Hyman, who with her mother last week launched
an educational program to help teach school pupils about the attacks
and to steer them away from violent extremism.
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"It's worth remembering an event like 7/7 and learning lessons from
it so that it didn't happen in vain."
Britain is currently on its second highest alert level of "severe",
meaning a militant attack is considered highly likely, mainly due to
the danger the authorities say is posed by Islamic State (IS)
fighters and Britons who have joined them.
Andrew Parker, head of Britain's domestic spy agency MI5,
said only a "tiny fraction of the population" posed a threat.
"But the continuing fact that some people, born in the UK, with all
the opportunities and freedoms that modern Britain offers, can
nonetheless make those sorts of warped choices presents a serious
societal and security challenge," Parker said in a rare public
statement.
The government plans new measures to counter extremism and Mark
Rowley, Britain's most senior counter-terrorism police officer, said
the country was better prepared than 10 years ago, although the
threat itself had morphed.
He said IS was creating an "enormous" list of potential targets,
focused on propaganda value.
(Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens)
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