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Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
'20 years on from 7/7 attacks - British Muslim lives have never been the same'
20 years on from the devastating 7/7 London bombings, the nation remembers the 52 lives lost — and reflects on how the attacks reshaped British Muslim identity and perception in the UK. Today, July 7, 2025, marks 20 years since the tragic London bombings which killed 52 people and injured more than 770 others. The co-ordinated terror attacks took place across four locations and targeted London's transport network during rush hour. Three of the blasts happened in tubes on the London Underground just before 8:50am BST near Aldgate, Edgware Road, and Russell Square stations, and the fourth bomb exploded at 9:47am BST on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Germaine Lindsay, 19, and 18-year-old Hasib Hussain, were identified as the suicide bombers. Sidique, Shehzad, and Hasib were British-born sons of Pakistani parents from the Holbeck and Beeston areas of Leeds, while Germaine, who changed his name to Abdullah Shaheed Jamal, was born in Jamaica and converted to Islam. Carried out by four men — three of whom were British Muslim — the fallout from the tragedy changed the very fabric of the British Muslim community in the UK. 'The emotional and social toll of 7/7 on Muslim communities was profound and is felt by many to this day,' imam Qari Asim tells the Guardian. Youth worker Fahad Khan — who was 18 at the time — shares with the BBC: 'It changed the stereotypical narrative of what a terrorist looked like to someone who was British-born, wearing western clothing and with a backpack.' The 7/7 attacks (as they've come to be known) sent massive shockwaves around the world — felt especially deeply in Leeds, where three of the four suicide bombers had grown up. Fahad says: 'When I found out they were from Leeds, it was just a huge blow.' Now 38, Fahad feels the perception of young Muslim men — 'someone who looks like him' — has been altered since the heinous attack, as he tells the BBC: 'It changed that narrative to someone who looked like me — and that's a lot to deal with.' Britain's Muslim community is diverse and predominantly young, with most members under 19, according to the Muslim Council of Britain. Census data from 2021 shows that 3.9 million people in England and Wales — equating to 6.5% of the population — identify as Muslim. READ MORE: 'I was next to 7/7 bomber and about to ask five-word question before world changed' Muhbeen Hussain MBE, who was only 11 at the time of the attacks, tells the BBC: 'There was a perception created about British Muslims, and I was growing up in that era. I didn't believe these men represented my religion or identity - it made me want to step up and call it out.' Speaking to the Guardian, Asim feels things worsened for the Muslim community after the attacks: 'Islamophobia has consistently increased in the last 20 years, and that's not just due to extremism and terrorism but also a multitude of factors.' After the 7/7 attacks, the government launched a largescale series of counter-terrorism initiatives aimed at preventing future attacks. Tony Blair, the then prime minister, introduced a 12-point plan which intended to offer increased collective security, however it was criticised for its potential negative impact on civil liberties and for over-policing the Muslim community, leading to them feeling alienated. Prevent, set up in 2006, was another government initiative launched at the time and is one of the four pillars of the UK's counter-terrorism strategy, Contest. After 7/7, there was a dramatic increase in faith-related hate crimes as well as police stop-and-searches. Dozens of terrorism-related charges were filed each year, with conviction rates rising significantly. However, Fahad is optimistic — both for the fate of the Muslim community as well as Leeds — as he shares: 'You've had 20 years of more Muslims going to school, university, being more confident and articulate. Leeds is resilient - it doesn't sit under the shadow of 7/7.' Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!
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Business Standard
07-07-2025
- Business Standard
20 years since 7/7 attack: How London bombings changed the UK forever
Britain on Monday marked two decades since a series of suicide bombings tore through London's transport network, killing 52 people and injuring nearly 800 others. The coordinated attacks on July 7, 2005, carried out by four British men, brought terror to the heart of the capital and left a scar on the minds of Britons forever. As commemorations take place across the country, including a service at Hyde Park's 7/7 memorial, survivors, families, and leaders are reflecting on the profound impact of that day and the years that followed. The morning London stood still In the early hours of July 7 (2005), London's transport network was operating as usual. Commuters boarded underground trains and buses during rush hour, unaware that four suicide bombers were travelling among them with deadly intent. At approximately 08:50, three near-simultaneous explosions occurred on the London Underground: Between Aldgate and Liverpool Street (Circle Line), At Edgware Road station (Circle Line), Between King's Cross and Russell Square (Piccadilly Line). Just under an hour later, at 09:47, a fourth bomb detonated on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, which had been diverted due to the chaos on the underground. In the immediate aftermath, confusion reigned. Early reports suggested a 'power surge' had disrupted the network. But as emergency services swarmed central London and more information emerged, the scale and nature of the attack became heartbreakingly clear. The bombers: Young men from within All the four perpetrators were British nationals, three of whom had grown up in Leeds. Their names became familiar in the days that followed: Mohammad Sidique Khan (30) – a teaching assistant from Leeds who was identified as the group's ringleader Shehzad Tanweer (22) – also from Leeds and known for his passion for sports Germaine Lindsay (19) – a Jamaican-born convert to Islam living in Aylesbury Hasib Hussain (18) – the youngest, responsible for the bus bombing The revelation that the attackers were homegrown came as a shock to many. A video released posthumously showed Khan justifying the attacks as retaliation for British foreign policy, stating, 'Your democratically elected governments continually perpetrate atrocities against my people all over the world.' The attackers were inspired by al-Qaeda's ideology and had links to al-Qaeda affiliated groups. 'Was minutes away from that bus' 'I will never know just how close I came to being on the bus that exploded in Tavistock Square,' she wrote later. 'I was riding on a London Transport double-decker on the same route only minutes before the explosion. At the time, I thought I was safe. My miscalculation could have been a fatal mistake.' A second attempt thwarted: The 21/07 plot Just a fortnight later, on July 21, 2005, four more men attempted a copycat attack on London's transport system. Their targets mirrored the original assault — three Underground trains and a bus. Fortunately, in this instance, the devices failed to explode properly. Only the detonators went off, causing panic but no deaths. The failed attack sparked a vast police operation, culminating in the arrests of all four suspects, including one detained in Rome after fleeing abroad. All were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Jean Charles de Menezes: A tragic error Investigation was launched in full swing and several government agencies found themselves scanning the roads of England looking for leads. Several people were mistakenly arrested, stopped and searched, and detained in connection to the bombings. As shoot at sight orders were issued for any suspicious person, on July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian electrician, was shot dead by police at Stockwell Underground station. Officers believed he matched the description of one of the failed bombers. Surveillance teams had followed him from his home, and he was shot multiple times at close range on the train. Subsequent investigations revealed that Menezes had no connection to terrorism and had not behaved suspiciously. The Metropolitan Police faced widespread criticism. Though no individual was prosecuted, the force was later found guilty of endangering public safety. The investigation: Missed warnings and rapid response The immediate investigation into July 7 was among the most intensive ever conducted in Britain. CCTV footage from King's Cross revealed the four bombers hugging before splitting up. Their car, found at Luton station, contained further explosive materials. Although security services had come across Khan and Tanweer in previous investigations, neither was considered a priority threat at the time. The attackers had no criminal records and were unknown to police in the context of terrorism — a profile that led MI5 to label them 'clean skins'. This failure to detect radicalisation at home led to calls for a rethink in domestic intelligence strategy. July 7 aftermath: A nation responds and reflects In the months and years that followed, the UK implemented sweeping changes in its counter-terrorism strategy. New legislation expanded surveillance and detention powers, while programmes like Prevent and Channel were introduced to curb radicalisation. There was also a rise in suspicion and scrutiny of Muslim communities, with some reporting increased instances of discrimination and profiling. Community leaders were pushed to denounce extremism and foster dialogue, even as they navigated grief and anxiety. Memorial and memory In 2009, a permanent memorial was installed in Hyde Park — 52 stainless steel pillars standing as silent markers of each life lost. Every year since, survivors and families have gathered there in remembrance. Today, on the 20th anniversary, tributes were led by senior political and religious leaders. King Charles III, in a recorded message, hailed the 'spirit of unity and compassion' shown in the wake of the tragedy. UK's Prime Minister, Keir Starmer echoed this sentiment, calling July 7 a 'defining moment of collective resilience'. A legacy etched in 'steel and spirit' Twenty years on, the scars of July 7 remain. For the families of those lost, for the hundreds injured, and for a city that was forever changed, the pain endures. But so does the strength. The attacks served as a grim reminder that terrorism could emerge from within. But they also demonstrated London's ability to endure, to adapt, and to honour the memory of those it lost — not with fear, but with steadfast resolve. As the steel columns in Hyde Park (or the 7/7 Memorial) glint in the summer sun, they remind everyone not only of the lives cut short, but of the importance of vigilance, unity, and hope in the face of tragedy.
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The need for constant vigilance
Twenty years ago today, Londoners awoke to a bright summer's day with a spring in their step. The capital had just been named the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games, confirming its global status. Better still, it had beaten Paris to the prize. On the radio that morning, Sir Ian Blair, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, discussed the security needs for such a big event and described his force's anti-terrorist preparations as ''the envy of the policing world''. Yet even as he spoke, four men were making their way on to the London transport system to turn his words to dust. The quartet of suicide bombers would commit the worst atrocity on British soil, killing 52 people. A few days passed before it was clear who was responsible and the discovery was a shock. These were not terrorists who had arrived from overseas to attack the UK. They were homegrown fundamentalists, led by a Yorkshire-born teaching assistant of Pakistani descent, trained in bomb-making at an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. The revelation led to a great deal of soul-searching about the apparent failure to assimilate into British culture people who were actually raised in the country. A video left by Mohammad Sidique Khan made clear that he considered loyalty to Islam to be greater than that to his country. The destruction of al-Qaeda training camps after 9/11 reduced the bomb-making expertise available to fanatics who now more often use stolen lorries or knives to cause carnage. But the possibility of mass casualty attacks remains and the security agencies need to maintain the highest vigilance. They have to be able to gather intelligence from within Muslim communities, especially now so many young people are being radicalised over the internet. Can we be sure that enough is being done to make this happen?
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
How the 7/7 bombings changed a generation of British Muslims
On 7 July 2005, 52 people were killed and hundreds more injured in bombings targeting London's transport network during rush hour. The terror attacks sent shockwaves across the world - but particularly so in Leeds where three of the four suicide bombers grew up. "It changed the stereotypical narrative of what a terrorist looked like to someone who was British-born, wearing western clothing and with a backpack," says youth worker Fahad Khan, who was 18 at the time of the atrocity 20 years ago. "When I found out they were from Leeds, it was just a huge blow."Mr Khan now volunteers at the youth centre which some of the bombers visited in their teenage years. On 7 July 2005, three Tube trains and a bus were struck in quick succession, in what MI5 says was the "first successful attack by Islamist suicide bombers in the UK".All four of the suicide bombers were under the age of 30 and three were British-born sons of Pakistani parents from the Beeston and Holbeck areas of Leeds. The community was traumatised and the events forced terrorism to the forefront of the city's Muslim community. For Mr Khan, now 38, the news altered people's perceptions of young Muslim men. "It changed that narrative to someone who looked like me - and that's a lot to deal with," he the aftermath of the bombings, Mr Khan started volunteering at the Hamara Centre in Sidique Khan, 30, said to be the leader of the group, was a youth outreach worker there, while staff previously confirmed that two of the other terrorists, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, and Hasib Hussain,18, also spent time at the centre. Following the bombings, Mr Khan's goal was to engage young people and help them find their voice."We were talking to young people from very deprived communities," he explains. "Often first-generation British-born people like myself, with a disconnect from their parents, language barriers and no support in dealing with these huge issues and feeling targeted by policies the government was making at the time. "Our aim was to bring these kids from the periphery into the centre."After 7/7, the government launched a series of initiatives aimed at preventing future attacks. These included Prevent, set up in 2006. It is one of four strands of the government's umbrella counter-terrorism strategy Contest and designed to support people at risk of joining extremist groups and carrying out terrorist activities. Anti-radicalisation work is carried out in schools, faith organisations and the Prevent strategy has been criticised by some MPs, the National Union of Teachers and the Muslim Council of argue it is counterproductive and that it can make Muslim students feel isolated and can add to a general sense of distrust across Birt, a researcher, British Muslim affairs academic and community advocate, was among those consulted by the government in the early days after the attacks."My hope was that we could create policies with real buy-in from Muslim communities," he says. "But we never achieved that consensus. "The Muslim communities wanted a more pastoral approach where they dealt with youth issues seriously and get support for the government wanted a combative approach to take on extremist added: "That wasn't something the Muslim community were equipped to do." Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who is also from a Pakistani Muslim family in West Yorkshire, was just beginning her political career at the time of the bombings. In 2007 she became the first Muslim to serve as a minister in a shadow Ms Warsi called the government's anti-terrorism plans "toxic". "It was supposed to be an upstream policy done with Muslim communities, but it became a policy done to Muslim communities," she says."It wasn't about a battle of ideas - it became about policing communities." A Home Office spokesperson said: "We now have one of the strongest counter-terrorism frameworks in the world which does not target any one community and deals with all forms of terrorist ideology."They added the "appalling" 7/7 attacks had had a "lasting impact on victims, survivors, loved ones, and communities". Muhbeen Hussain MBE was just 11 when the attacks happened. The tragedy inspired him to join a peace walk organised by 7/7 survivor, Gill Hicks, that changed his life. "There was a perception created about British Muslims, and I was growing up in that era," he says."I didn't believe these men represented my religion or identity - it made me want to step up and call it out." Mr Hussain, now 31, went on to work with the government on counter-extremism efforts and while he acknowledges the criticism, he also sees the value in the work."Yes, some initiatives were toxic, but we did do positive work, there was deradicalisation," he says."We needed a strategy - because we had 7/7 and we had terrorism in this country."Back in Beeston, Mr Khan believes Leeds has come a long way."You've had 20 years of more Muslims going to school, university, being more confident and articulate. "Leeds is resilient - it doesn't sit under the shadow of 7/7." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
07-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Surviving 7/7 terrorist attacks changed my life'
On 7 July 2005, London's public transport system was targeted by four suicide bombers who killed 52 people and injured more than 700 during the morning rush hour. Bill Mann, 60, survived the attack and recounts how it changed his life completely. Mr Mann was travelling in a Tube carriage on his way to work in Paddington when Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, detonated a bomb 08:50 BST as the train was coming into Edgware Road station. He survived with minor injuries, but he described that following the blast he realised what mattered in his Mann, from Brentwood, Essex, said: "The only things I wanted to live for were the things that money couldn't buy. "I wanted to be here to have dinner with the kids in the evening, read them books, put them to bed, and I could do all those things regardless of what house I'm living in and what car I drive." Two other bombs were detonated on the London Underground at Aldgate station and Russell Square station and a third bomb exploded on a red double-decker bus beside Tavistock Square."My first memory is actually of flying through the air to the opposite doorway. I thought is this it, is this where it all ends? "I almost felt surprised because it had never occurred to me that I might die young."There was a brief pause, a brief moment of silence, and then the screaming started and I'll always remember it because there were two distinct screams. "I could hear the screams of people in the carriage that were just hysterical, but I could also hear the screams of the people that were badly injured and dying and they were very, very different."Mr Mann stayed onboard the carriage to try and help the injured, before being taken above ground to a nearby Marks and Spencer and then to a hotel. Two years after the terrorist attack Mr Mann's wife of 24 years, Johanne, was diagnosed with cancer. "It felt like I was back in the train, but obviously in many ways it was worse because it was affecting the whole family and the children were very young so that was incredibly hard to deal with," he said. Johanne passed away in 2011, leaving Bill to raise his children alone. He later left his career and became a life coach to try and help others."I can't describe how much my life had changed during that period because of those two events. Some days I would wake up in a dreadful state and think well I've just got to get through today and tomorrow would be different. "Sometimes it would be take each hour as it comes, eventually it does become a bit easier." 'We searched for Carrie' On the other side of London, the bombings robbed another family of a daughter and Taylor, 24, from Billericay, Essex, had just begun a new job at the Royal Society of Arts and had commuted into Liverpool Street station with her mum parted ways and Carrie took a Circle Line train towards Aldgate where bomber Shehzad Tanweer, 22, detonated a bomb which killed her and six others. Her father, John Taylor, was in Essex at the time and he spent days searching for his daughter in hospitals in London following the attack. "We went up to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel to see if Carrie was there," he said. "We had a picture of Carrie with us and we showed it to the receptionist, she said there are so many people here, but told us there was a lady upstairs that they couldn't identify."She took the photograph and went up to see this other lady, unfortunately she came back down and said, 'I'm very sorry sir, it's not Carrie'," he added. John, June, and Carrie's brother Simon would have to wait ten days for formal identification to confirm Carrie had been killed in the 76, added: "The minute someone tells you you've lost your daughter, you don't know what to do, you just descend into a black hole."You never get over it, but you get used to it. I still go to the station and can be sitting waiting to pick my son up and thinking, Carrie should be on that train." 'I had to help' Off-duty police officer Elizabeth Kenworthy, from Nazeing, Essex, was travelling on the same train as Carrie that day. She moved towards the bombed carriage after the explosion to tend to the injured and was later awarded an MBE for said: "We were underground and I couldn't communicate and couldn't protect the scene so I thought I could give basic first aid to keep these people going."Ms Kenworthy keeps in touch with two of the injured she helped, including Martine Wright, who went on to compete for Team GB in the sitting volleyball competition at the Paralympic Games in 2012. She added: "Being a police officer it was my duty to do what I could to help. "On the anniversaries, I always think of the families who lost loved ones and people who were so badly injured and what they had to live with. "They are the people we need to care about." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
