London bombing victims begin court bid for inquiry

Published on Friday 31 August 2007 01:53

VICTIMS of the 7 July London suicide bombers have launched legal action against the government over its refusal to hold a public inquiry into the attacks.

Bereaved relatives and survivors have applied for a judicial review of the government's refusal to hold an inquiry into the attacks, which killed 56 people in London in 2005.

They claim the government's dismissal of their request for an inquiry breaches their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Questions about how much the government knew about two of the bombers ahead of the atrocities are particularly contentious.

A lawyer for the group said they were "disappointed and saddened" that they had felt compelled to go to court in their campaign for an independent public inquiry.

Tony Blair, the former prime minister, rebuffed demands for an inquiry and instead asked parliament's intelligence and security committee to review MI5's handling of intelligence about two of the bombers.

The move came after it emerged MI5 had observed ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer while investigating another group.

James Oury, of Oury Clark Solicitors, which represents the victims in the action, said: "The government's position has resulted in a group of still-suffering victims being manoeuvred into a litigation arena so not to be further disadvantaged."