Video special report: Coroner attacks MI5 over 7/7 failings

Lady Justice Hallett said the 52 victims of the July 2005 London bombings were unlawfully killed by four Muslim extremists from Yorkshire and rejected claims that security agency failings caused their deaths.

But she strongly criticised the “dreadful” editing by MI5, also known as the Security Service, of a sharp colour picture of 7/7 plot leader Mohammed Sidique Khan and his number two Shehzad Tanweer taken at a motorway service station in February 2004.

The cropped grainy black-and-white image of Khan was meant to be shown to al Qaida supergrass Mohammed Junaid Babar, who had met the British jihadist at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

But the picture was never put in front of Babar, apparently because its quality was so poor.

The coroner also voiced concerns about MI5’s inability to investigate Khan in detail after undercover teams watched him travelling lengthy distances to meet fertiliser bomb plot mastermind Omar Khyam more than a year before the London atrocities.

She said: “I am concerned about the fact that the Security Service’s other commitments prevented a more intense investigation of a possible terrorist, who made long and suspicious journeys to meet known terrorists at a time when they were obviously planning an attack.”

Lady Justice Hallett ruled that none of those killed in the attacks would have survived even if help had reached them sooner.

But she made seven recommendations for the emergency services and Transport for London aimed at preventing other deaths in the future.

Lady Justice Hallett said the evidence “does not justify the conclusion that any failings of any organisation or individual caused or contributed to the deaths”.

She spoke to a courtroom packed with bereaved families and survivors who have waited nearly six years for answers to their questions about how four suicide bombers were able to carry out the July 7 2005 attacks on London.

The inquest heard that an undercover MI5 surveillance team took a clear colour picture of 7/7 ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan and his number two Shehzad Tanweer at a motorway service station in February 2004.

The photograph of Khan was edited to show to al Qaida supergrass Mohammed Junaid Babar, who had met the British jihadist at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

But the cropped grainy black-and-white picture was never shown to Babar, apparently because the quality was so poor.

The coroner recommended today that MI5 should consider whether it could improve its procedures “to ensure that ‘human sources’ who are asked to view photographs are shown copies of the photographs with the best possible quality, consistent with operational sensitivities”.

Lady Justice Hallett also highlighted the worries of the bereaved families about the limited records kept by MI5 about decisions on prioritising suspects.

The Security Service watched, followed and photographed Khan and Tanweer meeting terrorists planning a fertiliser bomb atrocity in February and March 2004.

But intelligence officials concluded that the pair were only small-time fraudsters and therefore not a top priority for further inquiries.

The coroner said MI5 should examine its procedures “to establish if there is room for further improvement in the recording of decisions relating to the assessment of targets”.

Lady Justice Hallett said: “I have concluded... that the medical and scientific evidence in relation to all 52 victims leads to only one sad conclusion.

“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that each of them would have died whatever time the emergency services reached and rescued them.”

The coroner also paid tribute to the “quiet dignity” of the families of the innocent victims, saying she was making a series of recommendations which “may save lives” in the future.

She also thanked the survivors of the attacks, many of whom are still suffering from the trauma of their horrific experiences, for giving evidence to the inquest.

“Reliving the events of 7/7 was the last thing they needed,” she said.

As well as announcing her verdicts for the 52 people killed in the attacks on three Tube trains and a red double-decker bus, Lady Justice Hallett ruled that inquests into the deaths of the four bombers should not be resumed.

“I can find no cause whatsoever to resume the inquests into the deaths of the four men,” she said.

“None of the families have sought to argue that any of these inquests should be resumed.”

The coroner said she doubted that many lawyers had ever been involved in “such a consistently harrowing and difficult case” as the 7/7 inquest.

She also said she believed that the hearings had successfully examined highly sensitive MI5 material relating to the occasions when the bombers came across the security agencies’ radar before the attacks.

“To my mind, the concerns that I would not be able to conduct a thorough and fair investigation into the security issues in wholly open evidential proceedings have proved unfounded,” she said.

The inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice in London began in October and heard five months of harrowing and often shocking testimony before closing its evidence sessions in March.

It had a wide-ranging remit to examine whether the emergency services’ response was adequate and whether MI5 could have prevented the attacks.

The hearings, which cost nearly £4.5 million excluding some final bills, looked in detail at the bombings at Aldgate, Edgware Road and King’s Cross Tube stations followed by the blast on a number 30 bus in Tavistock Square.

Lady Justice Hallett was frequently moved to pay tribute to the courage and determination of the rescuers who gave evidence before her.

Inside courtroom 73, John Taylor, father of Carrie, 24, who died in the bombing at Aldgate on the Circle Line, was visibly moved as the coroner turned to his daughter’s death.

At one point, he wiped his eyes while his wife wept softly, dabbing a tissue to her face.

Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David was murdered by Khan at Edgware Road, was similarly moved by the coroner’s words as she paid tribute to the memory of the dead.

He removed his glasses to wipe his eyes.

Others packed into the courtroom fought back emotion as the verdicts were read out.

While some comforted each other, many sat with their heads bowed. Several appeared to nod at times, as if in agreement with the coroner’s conclusions.

As proceedings came to a close, bereaved relatives left the courtroom, some appearing relieved to have drawn a line under the ordeal.

Others sat back in their seats, apparently allowing the coroner’s words to sink in as they composed themselves before walking away in small groups.

Outside court, Rosemary Mayes, whose son James, 28, was killed at King’s Cross, said she had been moved once again by descriptions of how the 52 people died.

Mrs Mayes, 67, of Stevenage, Herts, said: “When the coroner read the names out, it’s always awful.

“We are sort of hoping that James’s name is not read out, that it is not on the list, and that perhaps he is living the life of Riley somewhere.

“Of course, that’s never the case. It was very difficult and every time the list is read out, the reality that he is dead hits us.”

The bombings carried out by Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Hasib Hussain, 18, and Jermaine Lindsay, 19, were the worst single terrorist atrocity on British soil.

The inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice in London began in October and heard five months of harrowing and often shocking testimony before closing its evidence sessions in March.

It had a wide-ranging remit to examine whether the emergency services’ response was adequate and whether MI5 could have prevented the attacks.

The hearings, which cost nearly £4.5 million excluding some final bills, looked in detail at the bombings at Aldgate, Edgware Road and King’s Cross Tube stations followed by the blast on a number 30 bus in Tavistock Square.