The day Britain changed forever

IT IS a date seared into the collective memories of all over a certain age.

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That morning on July 7, 2005, just before 9am, suicide bombers detonated devices on three Tube trains in central London. An hour later, a fourth device ripped through a number 30 bus near Euston station. The so-called “7/7 bombings” killed 52 people and injured over 700.

Following these attacks, the police launched the most extensive criminal investigation in British history. It’s easy to forget that, two weeks later, another terror cell launched a copycat attack, detonating bombs on three tube trains and a number 26 bus in Hackney.

Happily, in each case, the detonators failed to set off the main explosives so no one was injured. But the escape of the suspects gave the security services a unique new challenge — four failed suicide bombers running amok on the streets of London.

The usually stoic capital lurched into a state of panic. After all, these suspects had already passed the psychological point of trying to kill themselves. Ultimately, this sense of panic resulted in the infamous police shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube station on the morning after the failed attacks.

The manhunt for the would-be 21/7 bombers memorably culminated eight days later when, captured on live TV, armed officers seized the last two suspects in just their pants.

These truly were three weeks like no other. Amid the chaos, the Provisional IRA announced the end of its armed campaign. Having endured three decades of their bombings, we were now bracing ourselves for a “new normal” of al-Qaeda suicide attacks.

Three pillars of state — the police, the security services and the government — faced serious questions about their performances during July 2005, and over the months and years preceding them.

The public demanded answers to two basic questions: Why didn’t the authorities see it coming and prevent it? And how did the authorities plan to ensure it wouldn’t happen again?