TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
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| Minister vows not to 'downgrade human rights' Justice minister Lord McNally has suggested that he would resign if the government repealed the Human Rights Act. news.bbc.co.uk |
Tropical species decline by 60 per cent The exotic birds and animals of the tropics are disappearing at a catastrophic rate as the rich world strips poor countries of their natural resources, the WWF has warned. telegraph.co.uk |
Steve Bell on the comprehensive spending review Steve Bell on the government's hard road to a better futureSteve Bell guardian.co.uk |
Jones' budget plea to opposition First Minister Carwyn Jones says spending cuts mean Conservative and Liberal Democrat AMs must "behave responsibly" on the Welsh budget. bbc.co.uk |
7/7 inquest told of police inspector's frustration over fire brigade delay Inspector Robert Munn jumped on to tracks on 7 July to show power was off but fire crew insisted on confirmationA police inspector who took charge of evacuating passengers from the Aldgate tunnel spoke of his frustration at seeing fire brigade officers refuse to enter half an hour after the 7 July explosion, despite being told that the tracks were no longer live.Inspector Robert Munn, of British Transport Police, described how he had jumped on to the tracks to show them the power was off, but they had insisted on confirmation from London Underground, which had "seemed to take for ever".Munn said the delay lasted only seconds but was "very frustrating" as he struggled to deal with the aftermath of the attack by the suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer at Aldgate five years ago.He told the inquest into the 7 July attacks, which killed 52 people, that a "severe shortage" of emergency service personnel, shortages of medical equipment such as stretchers, and the lack of working radios made life "very difficult" that day.Munn, who arrived at Aldgate station from Stratford with probationary officers at 9.07am and immediately declared a major incident, described the scene before him after he entered the tunnel as "chaotic pandemonium".Forced, because his radio was not working, to run between the platform and the tunnel to communicate with his control room, he made several calls asking for help.By 9.11am in a call that was read out in court, he asked for ambulances, and said: "There are people on the train who will die if they do not get immediate care."At around 9.17am, 27 minutes after the bomb had exploded, he went back to the platform and found a group of firefighters standing waiting in full kit.Munn told the inquest: "I said, 'It's this way, boys, do you want to come and join us?' I tried to get them to come down."One of them told me they weren't allowed on the tracks until the current was confirmed as being discharged."At that point I stood on the third rail and said to them, 'The power's off,' and they said, 'We have to have it confirmed by London Underground staff.'"There was a member of London Underground staff on the platform who I shouted to. I said, 'Is the power off?' and he confirmed it."This seemed to take for ever. In reality it was probably a matter of seconds."Asked how he felt about this, the policeman said: "I was very frustrated at the time."Up to four other firefighters were already working in the bombed carriage by this time, the inquest heard.Munn agreed that it was "correct protocol" for emergency services to check the power was off and praised the work of firefighters at Aldgate that day."The delay that I saw, although very frustrating at the time, was a very short period of time that they were actually within my vision," he said.Munn also told how one woman had held up the steady stream of evacuation by standing still, "rummaging around" in her bag, bringing out a camera and trying to take pictures of the carriage.He told the inquest she was causing "agitation" and that other passengers had shouted abuse at her.Earlier, the inquest heard from another policeman, Detective Constable Antonio Silvestro, the first to enter the tunnel. He described passengers emerging covered in soot as being like something out of "Michael Jackson's Thriller video".Silvestro said: "They were just covered in soot, their hair was all over the place, you just basically saw the whites of their eyes."He said passengers were unable to get out of the carriages because, at that early stage, there were no doors open."They were like sardines in there basically. There was a lot of smoke in there and they were panicking and screaming."Describing the difficulty of making out what had happened, he said: "I can best describe it as when a volcano erupts and you can see that really thick smoke."7 July London attacksLondonPoliceFirefightersKaren McVeighguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |