Two new reports put out by the British government show that the attacks in London could not have been prevented and were not linked to Al Qaeda. From here.
LONDON – British authorities were slow to recognize the growing threat of terrorism by angry British Muslims before the deadly bombings in London last July 7, but there is no evidence that the attack could have been prevented, according to a report issued Thursday.
“If more resources had been in place sooner, the chances of preventing the July attacks could have increased,” stated the report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. Acknowledging that its determinations were reached “largely in hindsight,” the committee also concluded that no matter how extensive the government’s anti-terrorism efforts, “it seems highly unlikely that it will be possible to stop all attacks.”
The parliamentary report on the deadliest attack in Britain since World War II, and a separate report issued by the Home Office, concluded that two of the July 7 bombers probably had contact with al Qaeda during visits to Pakistan in 2003 and from late 2004 into early 2005.
But they said there is no solid evidence to suggest that al Qaeda directly planned or directed the London attacks, in which 52 commuters were killed on three subway trains and a bus.
No links have been found between the July 7 bombers and the group that mounted failed bombing attempts against the transport system two weeks later, one of the reports said.
The reports found “no culpable failures” by agencies, including the MI5 and MI6 intelligence services, saying the bombings came without warning. Instead, Britain’s intelligence agencies were hobbled by lack of funds, a too-slow buildup of intelligence staff in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and spies’ failure to anticipate that British citizens would contemplate suicide attacks on their homeland.
The bombers, all young British Muslims who mixed chemicals for their crude bombs in a bathtub, were probably inspired by al Qaeda but acted on their own, motivated by “fierce antagonism to perceived injustices by the West against Muslims,” the Home Office report stated.
The long-awaited reports seemed unlikely to end speculation about the July 7 attack and a failed attack on July 21, in which five men are charged. Although British officials had warned for years of the likelihood of an attack by Islamic extremists, many Britons were shocked to learn that three of the four July 7 bombers were British-born.
Survivor groups were unsatisfied with the inquiries, demanding that the government conduct a public inquiry such as the one in the United States after 9-11.
“It’s a whitewash,” said Rachel North, 35, who survived the subway car bombing close to Russell Square station, which killed 26 people. “Reports written in secret by people hoping to save their own jobs usually find there is no one to blame.”
David Davis, a top Conservative Party leader, questioned the reports’ independence from Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government and security services.