LEGAL CHALLENGE TO GOVERNMENT AS PRESSURE GROWS FOR INDEPENDENT 7/7 INQUIRY
Survivors and relatives of the people killed in the July 7 th London bomb attacks have warned the Government that they will seek a Judicial Review into its continued refusal to grant an independent enquiry into the attacks.
They will outline their legal case in a letter, which will be presented to the Home Office at noon on Wednesday 15th August 2007.
Graham Foulkes, whose son David Foulkes, 22, was murdered at Edgware Rd said:
“We were very disappointed that the Government rejected our call for an independent enquiry. We believe that our country can only benefit from an independent investigation into the largest ever terrorist attack on mainland Britain.”
He continued:
“There have been reports into the bombings. None of these have been independent. And as time has gone on it has become obvious that much of what we were told was untrue. For instance, we have gone from being told that the bombers were unknown to the authorities (”clean skins”, as Charles Clarke, the then Home Secretary said in the wake of the bombings) to finding out through the “Crevice” trial that at least two of the bombers were known prior to July 7 th 2005 and that one of them, Mohammed Siddique Khan (the Edgware Road bomber) had been followed home by the authorities.”
This concern has been supported by the Greater London Assembly who, on May 28 th 2007, passed a motion calling for an independent inquiry following the conviction of the Crevice Defendants “given the conflicting accounts of what happened in the months leading up to 7th July 2005″.
The legal case for an enquiry rests on Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This requires the state to protect life and to undertake an independent and effective investigation of the issue if the article is breached. Even if the requirement to protect life was not breached, the Article allows for an enquiry because of the obvious need for public protection.
Rob Webb, whose sister Laura Webb, 29 was murdered at Edgware Rd said:
“The drip feed of information since the attacks probably doesn’t give the whole story. But it is now clear that the security services knew far more about the bombers and the possibility of an attack than we had originally been led to believe. So the state looks to have breached its duty to protect life. We all – Government, Security Services, survivors, bereaved and of course the public at large, who remain at risk of terrorist plots, need to learn all we can about the 7/7 attacks. We need to know what could have been done to help prevent them and so help prevent innocent people from suffering the fate of all those who were caught up in the awful events of that day in July 2005.”
Should the Government once again turn down the request for an independent investigation, the signatories of the letter will seek a Judicial Review into the decision.
Rob concluded:
“We don’t wish to take our Government to Court. But we need to ensure that everything is done to prevent further attacks. We believe that an Independent investigation will help do that, which is why we are prepared to go to Court to ensure that one happens.”
Petition for an inquiry here
Signatories to the letter, which will be presented to the Home Office today include:
Nader Mozzaka, bereaved. Nader’s wife, Nazy, died at Kings Cross
Graham Foulkes, bereaved. Graham’s son, David, died at Edgware Rd
Rob Webb, bereaved. Rob’s sister, laura, died at Edgware Rd
Paul Mitchell, survivor. Paul lost part of his leg and had serious hearing injuries at Kings Cross
Thelma Stober, survivor. Thelma lost her left leg and had other serious back injuries at Aldgate
Kirsty Morrison, survivor, King’s Cross. Kirsty developed debililtating PTSD.
Elizabeth Alderton, survivor, Aldgate
Ros Morley, bereaved. Ros’s husband Colin died at Edgware Rd
Lesley Ratcliff, survivor, King’s Cross
Michael Henning, survivor, Aldgate. Michael had facial injuried and developed PTSD
Judy Mallinson. Judy’s husband, Ross, suffered serious head injuries.
Ema Plunkett, survivor, Tavistock Square
Elizabeth Kenworthy, Aldgate. Survivor and first responder
David Gould, bereaved. David’s step-daughter, Helen, died at King’s Cross
Angela Iouannou, survivor, King’s cross
Fiona Crosbie, survivor, King’s Cross
Mark Elding, survivor, Tavistock Square
Andy Brown, survivor, Aldgate. Andy lost both legs in the explosion.
Janine Mitchell. Janine’s husband Paul was seriously injured at King’s Cross
Janne Palthe, survivor, Edgware Rd
Thomas Ikemi, bereaved. Thomas cousin, Anthony, was killed in Tavistock Sq
Ross Mallinson, survivor. Ross suffered serious head injuries at Aldgate
Sarah Stow, survivor, Tavistock Sq
Tim Coulson, survivor, Edgware Rd
Rachel North, survivor, King’s Cross.
