Families fume at 7/7 lawyer’s comment

‘Apparent bombers’ reference

FAMILIES of the innocent victims of the 7/7 London bomb blasts, in which an Oldham man was killed, made an emotional courtroom outburst after a lawyer called the men who killed their loved ones “apparent bombers”.

Dozens of bereaved relatives attended a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice to discuss how the inquests of those who died in the 2005 London bombings should proceed.

But several took offence at the way counsel to the inquest, Hugo Keith QC, referred to the four men who carried out the suicide attacks.

He apologised but families were then outraged at plans to hold the inquests into the deaths of the bombers and their victims at the same time.

Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David died in the blasts, branded plans to hold his son’s inquest at the same time as his killers as unacceptable.

David, from Austerlands, was killed when three tube trains and a London bus were blasted by four suicide bombers in July, 2005.

He was on the Edgeware Road tube when it was blown up by Leeds teaching assistant Mohammad Sidique Khan.

Coroner, Lady Justice Hallett, told the families she was legally bound to hold inquests together. Mr Foulkes said he was shocked and dismayed and said it was unacceptable that he could be sat next to Khan’s widow or family when the inquests start this year.

He added: “The inquest into the death of the murderers will be at the same time as the inquest into my son who they murdered, and that doesn’t feel right. It was quite upsetting and disturbing, and I wasn’t expecting that.”

A three-day pre-inquest review will be held in April. It will take submissions from family members and other interested parties. But legal representatives stressed no decision has yet been made.

Families are concerned the hearings will not answer their questions about what the authorities knew about the bombers.

Another question to be resolved is whether the survivors of the attacks should be counted as “interested persons” entitled to be represented at the hearings. If the inquests go ahead, they are expected to start in October and last for three months.