Former head of anti-terrorism says UK foreign policy a driver of 2005 bombings

British foreign policy was a driver behind the al-Qaida-backed 7 July 2005 bomb attacks on London, with the atrocity leaving a "soul-destroying" legacy of a rise in hate, a former head of counter-terrorism has said.

- Vikram Dodd

Neil Basu said governments needed to accept that foreign policy, such as Britain's stance on the Israel-Gaza war, could have a direct effect on domestic security.

Accepting that link, he said, did not excuse violence but allowed security professionals and the public to plan for any "blowback".

His interview with the Guardian marked the 20th anniversary of the attacks on London's transport network and the arrival of the modern age of Islamist mass murder in Britain.

Suicide bombers attacked three underground trains and a bus, leaving 52 people dead and more than 750 injured. The shock was compounded when it was revealed that the atrocity was the work of British-born terrorists, supported by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.

Basu, the head of counter-terrorism until 2021, said the current level of attack threat to Britain was higher than in 2005. Other sources confirm that grim assessment.

He said the 7 July bombings contributed to a growth in suspicion of Muslims and damage to race relations that left people of colour fearful, reversing progress since the 1980s.

They also came two years after the UK, with Tony Blair as prime minister, had joined in the US invasion of Iraq, on the false pretext that it had weapons of mass destruction.

Basu said: "A driver of the 7/7 attacks was foreign policy and Iraq.