TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
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| Tape trick How sticky tape helped UK team bag a Nobel bbc.co.uk |
7/7 inquest: 'unimaginable wave of horror' of London bombings The July 7 terrorists unleashed an "unimaginably dreadful wave of horror", an inquest into the London bombings of 2005 has heard. telegraph.co.uk |
7/7 inquest proves value of independent scrutiny | Mark Townsend Coroners' courts are crucial to giving victims' families closure and saving lives, as the London bombings inquest provesAlmost 2,000 days after the dreadful event, the inquests into the deaths of those killed in the London suicide bombings finally began last Monday.Fresh details quickly surfaced into how the attacks were planned for the day before, how a mystery white saloon was seen outside a Leeds bomb factory and how the bombers were apparently prepared to fight police if intercepted. And that was just day one of an inquiry expected to last five months.Early signs suggest the inquests will yield far more material behind the 7 July bombings than all the previous inquiries put together. They include an official Home Office report that offered an account of events but little else and a narrowly focused London assembly inquiry that highlighted failures by the emergency services.Two reports by the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) have been criticised for effectively letting the security services off the hook by concluding that MI5's decision not to make the attack's ringleader, Mohammad Sidique Khan, a priority target was "understandable and reasonable". Even now the exact circumstances in which Khan, 30, who had been photographed, followed and bugged by surveillance officers because of links with known terrorists, was left free to carry out the attacks remain ambiguous.The inquests, held at London's Royal Courts of Justice, are likely to dramatically alter our understanding of the attacks as well as providing closure to the victims' family members. Critically, the coroner's court will examine whether police and MI5 could have prevented the atrocities. Events will be scrutinised as far back as 2004, a time frame that importantly allows the backstory to the events of 7 July to be explored.Advocates of the inquest system say the 7 July proceedings will underline the value of coroners' courts. After all, the inquest is often the only public forum in which contentious deaths such as those in custody are subjected to public scrutiny. Yet barely four days into one of the most high-profile inquests of modern times, plans to strengthen their effectiveness were dramatically abandoned.Last Thursday the government discarded the promised root-and-branch reform of the inquest system, adding that the post of chief coroner for England and Wales was to be abolished. Reform would have had to tackle delays, inconsistent standards and a lack of accountability that plague the current system. Knowledge from every death investigation would, under the plans, have been retained and shared to help prevent similar fatalities. In short, more lives may have been saved.The 7 July inquest will plough on regardless. The material revealed, the questions asked – why was Khan not made a principal target? – and how they are answered will determine whether calls for an independent public inquiry into the attacks are finally becalmed. In the meantime, the government will continue to argue that such an inquiry would divert resources from the fight against terrorism during a period of cuts. The inquest system may have been robbed of its chance to improve, but the 7 July proceedings seem certain to remind both politicians and the public of their enduring value.7 July London attacksUK security and terrorismMark Townsendguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Fourth person arrested over death A fourth person is arrested on suspicion of murdering an 89-year-old man in Blackburn. bbc.co.uk |
Wikileaks: Nick Clegg backs calls for investigation The deputy prime minister backs calls for an investigation into claims of torture in Iraq disclosed in documents released by Wikileaks, potentially opening a rift in the Coalition government. telegraph.co.uk |