Foulkes demands 7/7 bomb inquiry

AN Austerlands father whose son was killed in the London terrorist attacks is demanding a public inquiry after three men were cleared of helping the bombers plan the attacks.

Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David died in the July 7 bombings, is among the bereaved relatives who want answers.

He also spoke of the pain caused in the delay of holding inquests for the 52 people killed — and voiced fears they could be held in secret.

Yesterday’s verdicts mean no-one has ever been brought to justice for the attacks on London’s transport network in 2005.

Survivors and families of victims and say this strengthens their case for a full independent inquiry. They are also awaiting a parliamentary review of intelligence about the bombing.

David, a former pupil at Hulme Grammar School for Boys, was a media sales manager. He was on his first solo trip to London when he was murdered in the Edgware Road blast.

His father said now was the time for a public inquiry: “For almost four years we have been asking for an inquiry into what led up to 7/7.

“We are not looking for people to blame, but we also know that we have not been told the whole truth.

“We believe that crucial lessons need to be learned. If mistakes have been made, they should be put right, not covered up. This is not a witch hunt, it is simply about saving lives.”

Suicide bombers Moha-mmed Siddique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer, Hasib Hussain and Germaine Lindsay detonated rucksacks packed with explosives on three Tube trains and a bus.

A jury at Kingston Crown Court yesterday cleared three men of helping them plan their attacks by carrying out a reconnaissance mission in London.

Waheed Ali (25), Mohammed Shakil (32), and Sadeer Saleem (28), all from Leeds, admitted visiting the capital, but claimed it was an entirely innocent outing.

Ali and Shakil were convicted of conspiracy to attend a place used for terrorist training.

Mr Foulkes spoke of the pain caused by the delay in holding inquests: “I don’t know how to describe the distress, the upset, the pain while the whole issue is prolonged.

“We were promised the inquest would be held very quickly. Then we got letter after letter putting it further and further back.

“It’s all been really quite distressful and really quite upsetting. It’s never going to be complete closure but by deliberately, for their own purposes, delaying and delaying and delaying, that prolongs the agony and pain for us.

“The callousness of it is hard to believe.”

Security agencies insisted there was no warning of the attacks on London, but some victims’ relatives dispute this.

Two of the July 7 bombers came under surveillance from British intelligence in 2004. But they were judged to be “peripheral” figures in another major terror plot and were never fully investigated.

Mr Foulkes said he met a senior intelligence officer after the bombings who alleged that ministers ignored an alert that the capital could be targeted around the July, 2005, G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

“With the information they had prior to the bombings these attacks could have been stopped,” said Mr Foulkes

He fears that powers going through Parliament will be used to stop the inquests being held in public to spare the Government’s embarrassment.