New 7/7 Documentary - Ludicrous Diversion

The July 7th Truth Campaign received an email earlier today informing us about the release of a new 7/7 documentary called 'Ludicrous Diversion'.

Ludicrous Diversion

On the 7th of July 2005 London was hit by a series of explosions. You probably think you know what happened that day. But you don’t.

The police have, from the onset of their investigation, chosen to withold from the public almost every bit of evidence they claim to have and have provably lied about several aspects of the London Bombings.

The mainstream news has wilfully spread false, unsubstantiated and unverifiable information, while choosing to completely ignore the numerous inconsistencies and discrepancies in the official story.

The government has finally, after a year, presented us with their official ‘narrative’ concerning the event. Within hours it was shown to contain numerous errors, a fact since admitted by the Home Secretary John Reid. They have continuously rejected calls for a full, independent public inquiry. Tony Blair himself described such an inquiry as a ‘ludicrous diversion’. What don’t they want us to find out?

Please distribute the link to this documentary far and wide and join us on the July 7th Truth Campaign's Independent People's Inquiry Forum.

RELEASE THE EVIDENCE Petition

Release the Evidence

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View Current Signatures - Sign the Petition

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To: The British Government

On 11 May 2006 the Home Office published the 'Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005'.

The official report has since been discredited owing to a factual inaccuracy, namely the departure time of the train the accused are alleged to have taken from Luton to Kings Cross. This error was announced to Parliament by the Home Secretary on 11 July 2006.

To date, only one piece of evidence has been placed in the public domain showing all four suspects - a single CCTV image, outside Luton station, in which three of the faces are unidentifiable.

No credible explanation has ever been given for the lack of CCTV footage from Luton and Kings Cross stations, despite there being numerous references to CCTV in the official report.

In the absence of a truly independent public inquiry, outside of the Inquiries Act 2005, we call on the British Government to RELEASE THE EVIDENCE that conclusively proves the official report beyond reasonable doubt.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Click here to sign the Petition

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The Guardian

Mark Honigsbaum in today's Guardian has shown that journalistic integrity is alive and well.

In his article he mentions many of the anomalies in the official story:

• the actual train times from Luton that morning (as opposed to the scheduled timetable)
• the lack of cctv evidence in the public domain
• the strange bars that go across the image we are told is Khan on the one CCTV image from Luton
• the amazing indestructible id that led to these 4 being identified so quickly

I was also pleased to see that the Guardian has placed this article in its Attack on London section of the site. If only other journalists would have the courage to question and investigate these facts and anomalies.

The July 7th Truth Campaign.

3 Trains at Edgware Road? * UPDATED *

The events at Edgware Rd station on 7/7/05 appear mired in as much confusion and misinformation as the train times from Luton that morning.

Below are some accounts of the incident as they were originally reported:

And at 0917 BST an explosion on another Circle Line train coming into Edgware Road underground station blew a hole through a wall onto another train at an adjoining platform.

Three trains were thought to be involved and there were seven confirmed deaths so far, Mr Paddick said.

Source: BBC

Seven people were later killed in an explosion at Edgware Road Tube station at 9.17am. Three trains are believed to have been hit.

Source: Sky News

At 09:17 BST a bomb exploded on another Circle Line train between Edgware Road Station and Paddington. The blast blew a hole in a wall, and another train was hit by debris from it. A third train is also involved. Five are known to be dead.

Source: Wikinews

At 9.17am, seven people died after an explosion ripped through a tunnel wall at Edgware Road station, damaging three trains.

Source: Irish News

9.17am - Edgware Road stationPolice confirmed five people died after an explosion ripped through an underground train as it was around 100 metres from arriving at Edgware Road station. The blast blew through a wall onto another train on an adjoining platform and in total three trains were affected.

Source: Guardian

In an attempt to clarify which trains were affected I had contacted the Metropolitan Police but was stonewalled by DI Neil Smith of the anti-terrorist branch at New Scotland Yard.

The MPS website states the following:

Westbound Circle Line train coming into Edgware Road station, approx. 100 yards into the tunnel. The explosion blew a hole through a wall onto another train on an adjoining platform. The device was in the second carriage, in the standing area near the first set of double doors.

I had requested the following information:

The police website states that two trains were involved in the incident on 7th July 2005 at Edgware Road, when the blast tore through a tunnel wall into a train on an adjoining platform. Was anyone injured or killed in this other train?

So I contacted TFL to find out about this train on an adjoining platform and received the following reply:

Thank you for your request, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, dated 5 April 2006 asking for -

* The numbers and lines of the other trains involved at Edgware Rd and whether there were any injuries or deaths on these other trains

I can confirm that, on 7 July 2005, 3 bombs exploded on the following 3 Tube trains:

* Circle line train number 204 heading eastbound from Liverpool Street station to Aldgate station;
* Circle line train number 216 travelling westbound heading from Edgware Road station to Paddington station; and
* Piccadilly line train number 331 travelling from King's Cross St. Pancras to Russell Square westbound.

The number of fatalities from these three incidents was as follows:

* 7 from the Aldgate incident;
* 6 from the Edgware Road incident; and
* 26 from the Kings Cross / Russell Square incident;

In total, four trains were damaged. Three of the trains were those where the explosions took place. A fourth train, a Hammersmith & City line train, at Edgware sustained damage, while passing Circle line train 216 when the device exploded. No fatalities or injuries were recorded on the Hammersmith & City line train.

No mention of tunnel walls or adjoining platforms! Another FOI request was then sent to TFL:

Dear Fola Olafare

Thank you for your reply to my FOI request ref: 1340405.

I had asked for the number of the other train involved at Edgware Road, which you have kindly informed me was a Hammersmith & City line train.

1. Could you please supply the number of this train.

The Metropolitan Police web site claim the following trains were involved at Edgware Road:

Westbound Circle Line train coming into Edgware Road station, approx. 100 yards into the tunnel. The explosion blew a hole through a wall onto another train on an adjoining platform. The device was in the second carriage, in the standing area near the first set of double doors.

2. Do I understand that this is not correct and that there was no hole blown through a tunnel wall onto a train on an adjoining platform?

The trouble with the 'only passengers on train 216 were injured or fatalities' answer is that it doesn't explain how Jenny Nicholson was killed travelling from Paddington to Edgware Road.

Jenny Nicholson, who was 24, was killed by the suicide bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan on the westbound Circle line service she had boarded at Paddington station. She had phoned her boyfriend, James White, minutes earlier.

Source: Guardian

From contact that I have made with a source very close to the incident I have the following:

The media reporting of the Edgware Road incident is very strange. All the TV cameras appeared at the wrong station which was the Bakerloo LIne station. There was reported a wall between the trains. Circle line trains operate in a double track tunnel where there are no walls between tracks or trains. You will not see any photos or videos of the Edgware Road incident either. They were all quickly classed as national security items. This is because of the damage done. The second car from the front having been totally destroyed including taking out the floor.

More questions that need answering are:

1. How did Jenny Nicholson die on an eastbound train between Paddington and Edgware Rd?

2. Why do the MPS claim that the explosion tore through a tunnel wall onto a train on an adjoining platform when there was no tunnel between the trains?

3. Why did early reports claim 3 trains were affected?

4. Why did the original time change from 9.17 to 8.50?


* UPDATE *

There is no tunnel wall at Edgware Rd as the MPS stated in their summary of the explosions. This is the reply I received from TFL:

17/Jul/2006

Dear Miss Dunne

Thank you for your request, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, asking for -

* The number of the Hammersmith & City line train at Edgware Road that sustained damage

* Whether there was a hole blown through a tunnel wall onto a train on an adjoining platform

I can confirm that the train number was 207 and that, at Edgware Road, there are not separate tunnels for trains heading in opposite directions.
Therefore, no hole was blown through a tunnel wall.

Correspondence with the MPS Anti-Terrorist Branch

The MPS replied to the request forwarded from the BTP:

Dear Ms Bridget Dunne

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2006040004250

I write in connection with your request for information which was received by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). I note you seek access to the following information:

* At what times were the areas surrounding the various sites of the bombings put up?.

DECISION

Having located and considered the relevant information, I am afraid that I am not required by statute to release the information requested. This letter serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act).

REASONS FOR DECISION

Section 17 of the Act provides:

(1) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is to any extent relying on a claim that any provision in part II relating to the duty to confirm or deny is relevant to the request or on a claim that information is exempt information must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice which-

(a) states the fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question, and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the
exemption applies.

You have submitted a series of requests concerning the events of the 7th July. It has now been explained on several occasions that the investigation into those events continues and therefore the details of the investigation cannot normally be released under the FOIA as the exemption under Section 30 of the Act applies. This exemption, as previously stated, means that information concerning ongoing enquiries should not be made public under FOIA as the proper means of detailed disclosure is through a Court or Inquest once the investigation is concluded.

The only way in which this exemption might not be claimed would be if the information being considered was of such a significant public interest or importance so as to justify an exceptional decision regarding that specific data. We judge to there to be minimal public interest in the question 'What times were the cordons set up?'. Given that the data emanating from your question appears to carry only curiosity interest, we see no credible basis upon which to deflect from the established guidance in maintaining confidential detailed information concerning ongoing investigations.

Whilst we welcome your continued interest in the activities of the MPS, please except that we cannot provide details of specific times for the events of that morning. Much of this information for all meaningful purposes is already in the public arena. If you do continue to repeatedly ask the same (or extremely similar) questions, you may reach a point where your requests are no longer be valid under the Act.

In each reply I have invited you to contact me or the investigation team if you have meaningful evidence to contribute to the investigation into the 7th July attacks. That offer still remains. I must point out, it not helpful for you to submit numerous requests which inevitably will require the same response. Each of these requests distracts us from other work, whereas a meeting might just have a productive outcome.
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

If you are dissatisfied with this response please read the attached paper entitled Complaint Rights which explains how to make a complaint.

Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please contact me on 0207 230 2717 or at the address at the top of this letter, quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Neil Smith
Detective Inspector
Anti-Terrorist Branch
New Scotland Yard

The MPS had replied similarly to my previous request for information.

I then wrote to Detective Inspector Smith and asked him the following:

Dear Mr Smith

Thank you for your prompt reply to my FOI request 2006030009138.
I asked for the following information:

1. Why does the police website still show that the explosion on the Piccadilly Line train on 7th July 2005 happened by the first set of double doors on carriage one?

2. What was the number of the train and carriage of the Piccadilly Line train that the explosion happened on on 7th July 2005?

3. The police website states that two trains were involved in the incident on 7th July 2005 at Edgware Road, when the blast tore through a tunnel wall into a train on an adjoining platform. Was anyone injured or killed in this other train?

4. Have details of the type of explosives and detonators used in the 4 incidents on 7th July been officially released?

5. Was a second controlled explosion carried out on a device found on the Number 30 bus in Tavistock Square on 7th July 2005?

You replied that you cannot locate these comments (1 & 3) on the MPS website. Could I direct you to the following:

'One week anniversary' bombings appeal'

Piccadilly Line train travelling from Kings Cross to Russell Square, approx 600 metres into the tunnel. The device was in the first carriage, in the standing area near the first set of double doors.

Westbound Circle Line train coming into Edgware Road station, approx. 100 yards into the tunnel. The explosion blew a hole through a wall onto another train on an adjoining platform. The device was in the second carriage, in the standing area near the first set of double doors.

If the above information is incorrect one week after these events, I have not found any updates on the MPS website to correct it.

There is also mention of a CCTV image showing these 4 men at Kings Cross station at 8.30am that morning, this image has never been released into the public domain. Yet we have seen at least 6 images of the suspects from the events on 21/7/05, for whom there will be a court case, and images of 3 of the 4 young men from 28/6/05 when they are said to have rehearsed these events.

I understand that this is an ongoing investigation, yet there is a scarcity of facts from the 7/7/05, (only one CCTV image of the 4 accused together taken 30 miles away at Luton), or contradicting facts, such as where the device was placed on the Piccadilly Line train. Given the quantity of images and facts in the public domain for the events of the 21/7/05 I cannot understand how or why any trial or inquest into 7/7/05 would be prejudiced by this information being released.

http://www.met.police.uk/news/july_21_07_05/response4.htm

You state in your reply:

'The fact that the enquiry continues means that the Section 30 FOIA exemption must be applied to avoid early or inappropriate disclosure of material subject to court proceedings'.

How can the answers to the questions I have asked possibly prejudice any court proceedings, especially as the 4 accused will not stand trial? If the release of at least 6 CCTV images from the 21/7/05 and details of these men movements will not affect their forthcoming trial?

Yours Sincerely

Ms Bridget Dunne

Casualties Brought to BTP HQ on 7th July

Mr Coleman replied to my FOI request with the following information:

In answer to your question:

Were the casualties that were brought to the BTP HQ at approx 9.09 am from the train between Russell Square and Kings Cross?

BTP can supply the following information.

The first casualty brought to BTP’s HQ was from the Piccadilly Line train.

In respect of your request asking when the area was cordoned off, this request was transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service on 11th April 2006.

Brian Coleman
Freedom of Information manager.

I then sent the following to Mr Coleman:

Your Ref: FOI/0041/06/BC

Dear Mr Coleman

Thank you for your continued time and effort in promptly replying to my inquiries re: BTP HQ's on 7th July 2005.

I have three further FOI requests::

1. Could you please provide the number of the Piccadilly Line train from which casualties were brought to the BTP HQ?

2. At what time were the BTP alerted to the incident at Russell Square?

3. How many casualties were brought to the BTP HQ's from the bus explosion?

Regards

Reply to FOI Request from the BTP

Here's the reply to my FOI request:

Our Ref: FOI/0041/06/BC

Dear Ms Dunne

With reference to your request dated 27th March 2006 asking:

1. What was the information received at 9 am?

2. What time did the injured arrive at BTP HQ?

3. At what time was the whole area cordoned off?

4. Were any of the injured brought to the BTP HQ from the bus?

I can supply the following information in respect of your questions:

1. At exactly 0900hrs BTP have a logged call about the explosion that occurred on the underground train near Aldgate.

2. The casualties started to arrive at BTP HQ about 20 minutes after the first reports, at approximately 0909hrs.

3. I am afraid that BTP are unable to supply this information as it is not held as prescribed by Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Whilst three of the explosions happened on the underground network, the explosions occurred within the policed Metropolitan Police district and accordingly MPS put the cordons in place. For an exact time would you have to make a request to them. You can make your request to them by using their Freedom of Information application form at http://www.met.police.uk/information/metric/index.htm or if you wish BTP can forward your request onto them

4. Yes.

If you have any queries regarding the above information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours Sincerely
Brian Coleman BA, MSc
Freedom of Information Manager

On 9th April I asked Mr Coleman the following:

Dear Mr Coleman

Thank you for the reply to my FOI request ref: FOI/0041/06/BC.

Could you tell me :

Were the casualties that were brought to the BTP HQ at approx 9.09 am from the train between Russell Square and Kings Cross?

Yes, I would like you to request from the MPS at what time the area was cordoned off.

Regards

Bridget Dunne

FOI Request to the British Transport Police

On March 26th I sent the following FOIA request to the BTP:

From The Guardian 10/7/05:

Andy Trotter
Deputy chief constable, British Transport Police.

'I was in the British Transport Police HQ in Tavistock Square when the first information came through at 9am. I immediately dispatched senior officers to the scene, then watched, horrified, as the tale unfolded in front of us.

'Within minutes, the casualties from Russell Square tube began arriving at our HQ. When the bus exploded, the whole building started rocking and debris began falling all around us. My first thought was to put extra security on our front door because the terrorists could try to gain access to the building by coming in with the injured. My children began texting me but I couldn't make a personal call to my wife until late afternoon: I didn't have a second to spare.'

Source: The Guardian

Why were casualties brought to the BTP HQ and not taken to hospital?

In fact, I have read no survivor or witness reports that have stated that they were taken to BTP HQ and I wonder why that is?

Could you say why they were brought and how many,

Thank You

Ms Bridget Dunne

http://www.btp.police.uk/foi.htm

BTP reply on 27/3/06 to my FOI request

Dear Ms Dunne

In respect of your request I can supply the following information.

Nine person were brought to the British Transport Police HQ and were either suffering from shock and/or very minor injuries which did not require hospital attention. If they had required hospital treatment that would have been arranged.

They were brought to BTP’s HQ as it was a secure location, bearing in mind that very quickly the whole area was cordoned off, making it very difficult for anybody to leave the area, particularly as all bus and underground services had been suspended.

BTP cannot state why you have read no survivor or witness reports stating they were taken to BTP’s HQ. What is reported is obviously outside of BTP’s control.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Brian Coleman

Freedom of Information manager

To which I replied with the following:

Dear Mr Coleman

Thank you for the prompt reply to my FOI request.

The original report from Andy Trotter was:

'I was in the British Transport Police HQ in Tavistock Square when the first information came through at 9am. I immediately dispatched senior officers to the scene, then watched, horrified, as the tale unfolded in front of us.

'Within minutes, the casualties from Russell Square tube began arriving at our HQ. When the bus exploded, the whole building started rocking and debris began falling all around us. My first thought was to put extra security on our front door because the terrorists could try to gain access to the building by coming in with the injured.

Could you please tell me:

1. What was the infromation received at 9 am?

2. What time did the injured arrive at BTP HQ?

3. At what time was the whole area cordoned off?

4. Were any of the injured brought to the BTP HQ from the bus?

Regards

Ms Bridget Dunne

Were these questions a bit nearer to the bone? Here is the reply from the BTP:

Dear Ms Dunne

In respect of your request for:

1. What was the information received at 9 am?


2. What time did the injured arrive at BTP HQ?


3. At what time was the whole area cordoned off?


4. Were any of the injured brought to the BTP HQ from the bus?

BTP will deal with your request within 20 working days. If it is likely that BTP will not be able to answer you request within that time you will be advised of the new date.

However, in respect of question 3 the cordons were put in place by the Metropolitan Police Service, consequently BTP do not hold this information as prescribed by the Freedom of Information Act and are unable to answer this question. To request this information from the MPS you can find their request form at http://www.met.police.uk/information/metric/index.htm .

Brian Coleman

New July Seventh Truth Campaign Web Site

The research on this site has been incorporated into a new July Seventh website:

Welcome to the July 7th Truth Campaign

A Call for July 7th Truth & Justice

This site was set-up in the wake of the London bombings on July 7th 2005 with the aim of getting to the truth about what really happened in London on the day that 56 people were killed and over 700 injured.

Initial reports from train operating companies announced that the devastation on the Underground was the result of train collisions, electrical failures and power surges. Shortly after the explosion of a number 30 bus at 9.47am, outside the British Medical Association headquarters in Tavistock Square, a very different version of events began to unfold.

What do we want and who are we to demand it?

In his book, '7-7 The London Bombs - What went wrong?', former government intelligence officer, Lt. Col. Crispin Black, wrote:

"We need an official inquiry - now. Not a whitewash inquiry like Lord Hutton's. Or a punch-pulling inquiry like Lord Butler's. But an inquiry run by plain Mr or Mrs somebody."

This site and the associated investigation forum was set-up by a collective of plain Mr, Mrs and Ms somebodies comprising concerned residents and independent public researchers, all with the single aim of getting to the truth behind what happened on July 7th through an Independent People's Inquiry.

FOIA Request to The Met

On March 26th I sent the following FOIA request to the Metropolitan Police:

1. Why does the police website still show that the explosion on the Piccadilly Line train on 7th July 2005 happened by the first set of double doors on carriage one?

2. What was the number of the train and carriage of the Piccadilly Line train that the explosion happened on on 7th July 2005?

3. The police website states that two trains were involved in the incident on 7th July 2005 at Edgware Road, when the blast tore through a tunnel wall into a train on an adjoining platform. Was anyone injured or killed in this other train?

4. Have details of the type of explosives and detonators used in the 4 incidents on 7th July been officially released?

5. Was a second controlled explosion carried out on a device found on the Number 30 bus in Tavistock Square on 7th July 2005?

I will post their response as soon as I receive it.

Reply from BBC Horizon

Dear Bridget,

As spoken, attached is a copy of the e-mail that Alicky Sussman, producer of The 7/7 Bombers, thought had been sent to you on 3 November. We are sincerely sorry that you've had to wait so long to receive it.

Kind regards,

Alison

Alison Wilson
Divisional Adviser
Factual Programmes

Dear Ms Dunne,

Thank you for your email regarding the recent Horizon documentary - The 7/7 Bombers - A Psychological Investigation.

The information in the programme regarding the train times from Luton and at Kings Cross was based on information released by the Metropolitan Police Specialist Operations office and information provided to us by Thameslink and Luton station.

Although the psychologist, Dr Andrew Silke, was re-tracing the journey of the 4 bombers, he was not re-enacting it so there are some bits of his journey that do differ from the journey of the bombers.

The position that Hasib Hussain sat on the bus is an interesting point, but not one that we included in the programme as we did not have time to cover everything.

According to Dr Silke, Hussain would have been under a great deal of stress at that point and it likely that the position that he chose on the bus was not pre-planned, but the most convenient space at the time for him to carry out his mission.

With best wishes,

Alicky Sussman
Producer, Horizon

The information in the Horizon programme that I had complained about can be viewed here:

http://www.officialconfusion.com/77/train/horizon77.wmv

Press Complaints Commision Decision

On 2/12/05 I sent the following complaint to the Press Complaints Commission

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to complain about the following publication: Timesonline

On the date of:July 14 2005

The Headline was: CCTV pictures show London bus bomber

My complaint details are as follows:

I believe the following section of the code has been breached by the Times.

Accuracy
i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.
ii) A significant inaccuracy, mis-leading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology published.

When they state the following:

Hasib Hussain, an 18-year-old from Leeds, is shown in a CCTV image mounting the stairs at Luton station before taking the 7.40am train to King's Cross.

This information is incorrect and misleading as no 7.40 train left Luton Station that morning and this information is readily available from Thameslink. In fact, no train left Luton thameslink after 7.40 that could have reached Kings X in time for these young men to board the underground trains.

The link to the article is: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1693797,00.html

Yours Sincerely

Bridget Dunne

Source: Complaint to the PCC

Today, 7/2/06, 7 months after the events in London on 7/7/05, I received the following reply:


Their decision was as follows:

Press Complaints Commission
Commission's decision in the case of Dunne v The Times

The Commission noted the complainant's contention that the article was wrong in stating that the 7 July bombers took a train from Luton station at 0740. However, there appeared to be no suggestion that the substance of the article was incorrect and no complaint from anyone connected to Hasib Hussain had been received to the effect that any photographs published by the Times were not, in fact, of him. The Commission did not consider that any very minor inaccuracy with regard to when the train left Luton was so significant as to mislead readers or to warrant correction under the terms of the Code. Ultimately, it did consider the Code to have been breached by the article at all.

Just to remind myself of the PCC's code of conduct

Accuracy
i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.
ii) A significant inaccuracy, mis-leading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology published.

So when the PCC say:

The Commission did not consider that any very minor inaccuracy with regard to when the train left Luton was so significant as to mislead readers or to warrant correction under the terms of the Code. Ultimately, it did consider the Code to have been breached by the article at all.

I can only assume that the fact that Hasib Hussain could not have got onto a train at 7.40, to then be seen in London at 8.26, is just a 'minor inaccuracy'.

It was so insignificant, according to the PCC, as to not warrant correction under the terms of the code.

Simple things like facts now appear to be irrelevant in this 'stage-managed' world we inhabit.

The Mystery Of The Non-Existent Train Drivers

Six months after the tragic and traumatic events in London on 7th July there remain many unanswered questions and a version of events that fails to add up.

I have tried to establish here the times of trains from Luton and Kings X in an effort to gather some of the 'facts' which are woefully absent from the public domain. My premise was that an investigation into what Ian Blair calls 'the largest criminal inquiry in English history", would make these facts known in an effort to obtain witnesses to these events. These facts would also make sense of what happened that day. Either something happened or didn't happen. Facts are the nearest we can get to establishing the truth and only the truth and therefore the facts will stand up to rigorous investigation.

That the times of trains were totally absent from the public domain was one of the factors which lead to my suspicions that what we were being told happened was not what actually happened. It is now established that the 7.40 from Luton was cancelled and the next train did not arrive in London in time to catch each of the tube trains. The Train Times From Kings X - at last!

Trains not only have timetables, they have train numbers and each carriage also has a number.

The orginal train numbers, according to the Transport for London website on 9/7:

Explosions were as follows (in succession):

* Circle line train number 204 heading eastbound from Liverpool Street station to Aldgate station.
* Circle line train number 216 travelling westbound heading from Edgware Road station to Paddington station.
* Piccadilly line train number 311 travelling from King's Cross St Pancras to Russell Square southbound.

The Piccadilly Line train number then changed to 331.

Update on 7/7 Attack for 10/7/05:

An update of the train identification is that the westbound Piccadilly Line train was actually 331 (not 311) running about 20 minutes late due to an earlier problem at Caledonian Road.

Tubeprune
BBC London Bombs

A fact verified in an email from TFL Customer Services

19/Nov/2005

Thank you for your email dated 5 November.

I can confirm that the Piccadilly train involved on 7 July was the westbound train no 331. The initial reports that we received immediately at the time were incorrect and we updated our records accordingly as soon as we were advised.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. Please let me know if you have any further queries or if you need any help in the future.

Yours sincerely

Fola Olafare
Customer Service Centre

I asked Clive D W Feather about this:

The change from 311 to 331 is probably just a mistake in early reports.

Was the Piccadilly Line train number 311 or 331 and does it matter?

Each train is also made up of several carriages, the Piccadilly line train according to Clive D W Feather consisted of:

The Piccadilly Line train consisted of the following vehicles:

166-566-366-417-617-217

Car 166 was the one holding the bomb.

Yet in an article entitled: Blue Watch relive the bomb hell inside carriage 346A

He found her bolt upright, sitting still in some sort of private hell. For an hour she had remained, unblinking in the gloom, hemmed in by corpses on either side. The two people stared at one another, each wondering how they had stumbled across such carnage that mild summer's morning.

She was an ordinary commuter who found herself at the epicentre of Britain's deadliest terrorist attack. He was firefighter Aaron Roche, the first person to enter carriage 346A of the 8.51am Piccadilly Line service from King's Cross after the 7 July bombs went off.

It was the 48th such service to leave London's busiest tube station that morning, each carriage crammed with commuters, many reading the newspaper coverage of London's Olympic triumph the previous day.

But what should have been a routine trip would, within moments, become part of London's history. Inside the 51ft by 9ft aluminium shell of 346A, 26 people died. It was the carriage where Britain's bloodiest attack since the Second World War took place; where the deadliest of the 7 July bombs was detonated.

Until now Roche has been reluctant to articulate the horrors he found. But almost 100 days after coming across the macabre contents of 346A, the Blue Watch crew manager from London Fire Brigade's Soho station has offered an extraordinary account of what he saw that July morning.

It had just turned 10am when Roche began striding along the dark tunnel towards the stranded train. No one had a clue what had caused its sudden breakdown. Roche had begun to fear the worst, though, as he came across a bedraggled string of passengers, their blackened, bleeding faces almost invisible in the choking clouds of smoke.

The train itself, though, seemed in better shape. Structurally, it seemed fine, its windows smashed by fire extinguishers hurled by commuters desperate to escape. Inside it was a different story. Passengers lay sprawled in each carriage, some nursing wounds, others simply too shocked to move.

Notice no mention of carriage 166 instead we have carriage 346A, mentioned in the article 11 times.

I have researched widely to find details of any of the drivers of these trains, drivers who acted courageously and bravely that morning, who saw things they would not be trained to deal with. The recent New Years Honours list does recognise a tube driver, but an off-duty driver who aided the injured after walking down the track from Aldgate East. What about the drivers of the three trains that day? I have found simply NOTHING.

Except this:

Anonymous said...

Not wishing to denigrate any of the actions of police on the day, not ONE WORD has been said about the driver of Train 311, Tom ****. I joined Tom's train at Kings Cross, travelling in the cab with him on my way to work as a fellow driver, based at Acton Town. I took the first couple of batches of walking wounded to Russell Square and was probably the first member of staff to meet any colleague at the station.

Tom stayed behind in the first car, doing what we as drivers are paid to do, looking after his train and his passengers on it. He helped some by applying tourniques and reassurring others. He saw things that even trained police officers found themselves unable to cope with, but most importantly had to face it on his own before help arrived probably 40 minutes later, a scene of utter devastation in almost total darkness.

He has never been mentioned or praised, he has remained dignified and quiet, and has never returned to drive a train.

Recently he applied for some compensation through his union. The response from the Met Police was "We have no knowledge of this person having been involved in this incident and therefore will not be processing his claim further."

Rather odd because Tom and I were interviewed by police for around three hours after the incident. The press coverage of the other 'heroes' has left him feeling completely empty and devalued. Pity when the the reaction of Police and certain members of station staff are lauded he has been completely forgotten.

Ray Wright
Train Operator
Acton Town Depot

Blogger: Post a Comment
Rachel From North London

This comment has since been deleted from the blog and I reprint it with the surname of the driver omitted.

I reprint it here because it is an astonishing and unbelievable account of how the driver of Piccadilly Line train 311 has been erased along with his train by the Metropolitan Police. Why did they say:

We have no knowledge of this person having been involved in this incident and therefore will not be processing his claim further.

We need to add WHY? to the seemingly unending list of unanswered questions.

How Independent is Indymedia?

Under the topic of Repression, a member of Indymedia whose nym is Bullshit-Detector posted on 13.12.2005 the following article with the heading NO PUBLIC ENQUIRY FOR 7/7 BOMBINGS:

Clarke rules out July 7 inquiry

There will be no public inquiry into the July 7 terrorist atrocities in London, the Home Office has confirmed.

A spokesperson said: "The Government is not proposing to hold a public inquiry into the events of July 7."

The BBC have reported that the government will instead publish a report based upon information from police and the security services, and civil servants. All very suspicious. It has been denounced by the Muslim association of Britain.

For a more valid intepretation of what happened on 7/7/05, here are some good sources of information:
http://bridgetdunnes.blogspot.com/
www.officialconfusion.com

This article was subsequently 'hidden' on the grounds that it breached Indymedia UK's editorial guidelines.

The editorial guidelines are:

The Independent Media Centre (IMC/Indymedia) UK is an open-publishing platform for news, issues, actions and analysis reporting on grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial social justice, environmental and political issues. IMC UK is maintained by a network of media activists and groups. IMC stands for Independent media center, UK stands for United Kollektives.

Does it strike anyone else that censorship of an article posted under Repression that has a link to this blog is in itself repressive?