7/7-Transport for London

Transport for London

Update: 14:25 - 7 July2005

Latest information confirms that there were four incidents on London's transport network this morning, three on London Underground and one on London Buses.

At 09:46 the London Underground was suspended and all stations commenced evacuation following incidents at:

* Aldgate station heading towards Liverpool Street station on the Hammersmith & City line;
* Russell Square station heading towards Kings Cross station on the Piccadilly line;
* Edgware Road station heading towards Paddington station on the Hammersmith & City line

9.46am when the London Underground was suspended! That's four minutes short of an hour after the 'official' 8.50am simultaneous explosions on the Underground and at almost PRECISELY the same time as this Number 30 bus rolled into and exploded in Tavistock square leave a number of unanswered questions - antagonise

How many People are standing on the top deck??? observe the Blacked-out woman in the foreground This photograph has been manipulated How much of the 'suicide bomber was left to identify? why would someone do this? the bombing was strong enough to decapitate someone, but left the suicide bombers clothes on?...and his driving licence?

Jul 13 2005 - "News reports say a key break in the case came when an anguished mother searching for her teenage son called police. Her description of the son's clothes matched those on a body on the bus whose injuries suggested he could have been the suicide bomber." - NYPOST The woman's description of her missing son's clothes matched those on a body whose horrific injuries - including decapitation - suggested he could have been the suicide bomber who blew up a red double-decker bus, killing 13 people, The Times newspaper reported Wednesday. - cbc.ca a picture of the aftermath of a suicide bomber in Isreal - Not a Pretty sight at all...

"an anguished mother searching for her teenage son..." What if the Authorities identified the bodies and then picked the 'Asian' victims out as 'terrorists'... because they need the politically useful... 'suicide bombers' FEAR. if that's true, then the families of these kids are marked for life and cannot greive in peace.

"Her description of the son's clothes matched those on a body on the bus whose injuries suggested he could have been the suicide bomber." were the bodies even placed on the bus? We only have this corroboration from the Mother of Hasib Hussian, because the authorities have told her they found a mans body parts and clothing which match her sons...

"Sarge! I've found something...It's a wallet...er...belonging to ...the BOMBER!!!" A police officer searches the grounds around St Pancras Parish Church for evidence after Thursday's bomb attacks in Tavistock Square, London, Sunday, July 10, 2005. Police began the recovery operations shortly after midday Sunday removing surrounding cars and debris from the square. (AP Photo/Sergio Dionisio )

"Sarge! I've found something TOO..." A police officer stands on what remains of the top deck of the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square London Saturday July 9, 2005, which was blown up by a bomb in the series of terrorist attacks in central London last Thursday morning. Police revised the timing of the deadly blasts that tore through the London Underground, saying Saturday the explosions were detonated just seconds apart. (AP Photo/ Matthew Fearn, PA

they've changed the story so many times...

Documents found on/near suspects is that before or after they swabbed for DNA of the victims? Authorities initially thought Hussain might have been a victim of the attacks and sent family liaison officers to meet his parents, who had believed he was planning a day in London with his friends. Police likely obtained photos and other identifying details to help track the teen, pictures that later matched the closed-circuit TV images. Police reportedly found Hussain's driver's licence and bank card in the wreckage of the No. 30 bus that blew up at 9:47 a.m. in Tavistock Square, almost two kilometres from King's Cross. Some believe he may have intended to set off his bomb on the Northern Line, which also passes through the station, but hit a bus instead because a technical problem had disrupted trains on the line earlier that morning. Documents belonging to two of the other suspects were found at two of the subway scenes, police said. Those suspects were identified in the media as Shahzad Tanweer, 22, described as a cricket fan; and Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, a new father. The third subway bombing site, a Piccadilly Line train deep beneath London's streets, is more severely damaged and harder to reach, and searchers have not yet linked anything found there to the fourth bomber. Britain's Press Association news agency, citing police sources, said police have identified the fourth suspect but did not report a name. Prime Minister Tony Blair congratulated police and intelligence teams Wednesday for work he called "magnificent." - same CBC story

Cartoon from an Australian newspaper Thanks to John Via David icke

"Some of his property was found on the No. 30 bus," - Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan Police's anti-terrorist unit "Property in the name of a second was found at the scene of the Aldgate bomb and, in relation to a third man, property was found at the Aldgate and Edgware Road bombs. Finding their property suggests they were caught up in the blasts, officials said. - nydailynews

Was there really a bomber on the bus?

NO STANDING ON THE TOP DECK PLEASE! check this witness statement, Mr Jones said he saw a man in an agitated state on the bus Passenger believes he saw bomber A bus passenger says he may have seen one of those responsible for the bomb attacks in London. Richard Jones, from Binfield, near Bracknell, Berks, had got off a bus just before it was blown up in Tavistock Square on Thursday. Mr Jones, 61, an IT consultant, has told BBC News he saw a man acting suspiciously on the bus. He said the man was fiddling with something in his bag and seemed in an agitated state. Everybody is standing face-to-face and this guy kept dipping into this bag Mr Jones, who was forced to take the bus from Euston after Tube services were suspended, said: "He was standing next to me with a bag at his feet and he kept dipping into this bag and fiddling about with something. "I was getting quite annoyed with this because it was a crowded bus. "Everybody is standing face-to-face and this guy kept dipping into this bag." Mr Jones, who said he got off the bus because it was in heavy traffic, has given a statement to police. Police have yet been unable to establish whether a suicide bomber was responsible for the attack on the bus. Police have said thirteen people were killed on the bus. - news.bbc.co.uk he states that the passengers were standing face to face.... the so called bomber was fiddling with his bag...... he doesnt say if they were upstairs or downstairs...... on the top deck of buses passengers are not allowed to stand, only downstairs is that allowed. If the driver sees people upstairs standing in his periscope he will stop the bus and order them off.... if this happened downstairs they were away from the source of the blast ! [thanx to yooknowhoo for pointing this out to me xx]

does this description fit?

in another account to the press Richard jones is quoted: He said the bomber was around 6ft tall, in his mid-twenties, clean-shaven and smartly dressed. He kept reaching into the bag at his feet, thrusting his backside towards Richard's face every time. Richard said: 'I thought he was maybe playing with an iPod. But every time he bent over, he was right in my face. 'He was becoming more and more agitated and kept reaching down but didn't take anything out of the bag.' The man was wearing hipster-style fawn checked trousers, with exposed designer underwear, and a matching jersey-style top. Richard said: 'The pants looked very expensive, they were white with a red band on top. It's a strange thing to remember but he was right in my face. - sundaymail.co.uk So, why are the media playing 'conspiracy theorist', why are they using tittle tattle tales from a Scots IT expert who doesn't seem to trust brown faces with nice clothes... Face of London bus bomber 14/07/2005 - 17:58:04 - Detectives today issued a picture of one of the London suicide bombers as they appealed for public help in tracing his last moments. Hasib Hussain, 18, blew himself up on the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square along with 12 other people. The head of Scotland Yard anti-terrorist branch, Peter Clarke, said police wanted to know what Hussain was doing in the hour after his three fellow bombers blew themselves up on tube trains. They detonated their devices at 8.50am but Hussain did not trigger his bomb until 9.47am. - IOL

Thais hold Algerian for possible London bomb link Sat Aug 27, 2005 9:49 AM BST - BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police are holding an Algerian man arrested this week for passport fraud who may also have a connection to the July 7 London bombings, a senior Thai police official said on Saturday. Atamnia Yacine, 33, was detained in the Thai capital on Wednesday and faces charges of possessing 180 fake French and Spanish passports and overstaying his visa. The Nation newspaper reported on Saturday that police also suspect Yacine may have supplied fake travel documents used in the London attacks which killed 52 commuters. Police Major General Suwat Tumrongsiskul said British police had asked for information about Yacine, but declined to comment further on the investigation. "British police want to investigate this man to see whether he has anything to do with the London bombs," Suwat told Reuters. The forged passports had been sent to the French and Spanish embassies in Bangkok for further examination, Suwat said. Thailand is notorious as a centre for the production and distribution of fake travel documents. However, police have been under pressure to clamp down on the trade, which security analysts say makes it easier for international militants to hide their identities and travel undetected. reuters.co.uk Since when did anyone who was British need travel documents, like a passport, to travel anywhere in the UK? There is No internal passport system in the UK Why would suicide bombers need false passports

Last known movement of men linked to London bombs

12/07/2005 - 18:20:39 - Police today outlined the last known movements of four men linked to the bombings in London. Three of the men were from West Yorkshire and they all met on the journey to the capital last Thursday. They arrived at King's Cross Station just minutes before the explosions, according to Scotland Yard.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, of the Anti-Terrorist Branch, said property from three of the men was found at bomb sites but it was unclear whether they all died in the explosions.

He said: "The investigation quite early led us to have concerns about the movements and activities of four men, three of whom come from the West Yorkshire area. "We are trying to establish their movements in the run-up to last week's attack and specifically to establish if they all died in the explosions."

All four of the men arrived in London by train on the morning of Thursday July 7, he said. CCTV footage showed them arriving at King's Cross station shortly before 8.30am. One of the men from West Yorkshire was reported missing to the central casualty bureau by his family shortly after 10am last Thursday. Police confirmed that during the journey to London, he had been joined by the three other men. Mr Clarke said that personal documentation bearing the names of three of the four were found close to the seats of three of the explosions. Property of the man who had been reported missing by his family was found on the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square.

Further property in the name of a second man was found at the scene of the Aldgate bomb. Documents in the name of a third man were found at both the sites of the Aldgate and Edgware Road bombs. Police said there was "very strong forensic and other evidence" that one of the men from West Yorkshire died in the explosion at Aldgate. A vehicle was also found at Luton Station car park. Police did not say whether it played a part in the four suspects' journeys. One man has been arrested in West Yorkshire and will be brought to London to be questioned. - IOL

7/7-so what are the chances of both the Picadilly line and the Northern line being shut down for separate incidents... ?

so what are the chances of both
the Picadilly line and the Northern line being shut down
for separate incidents... ? This in itself is a major occurance
for London underground on a busy morning

after a chat to my source (15 years experience as a leading firefighter, and station officer qualification)
I have established that this alert is very suspect indeed
this is what i was told
bear in mind that this procedure was valid to 1999 when my source left the London Fire Brigade to emigrate

If a suspected fire on the track is reported, fire control will establish a location EG: between 'Station A' & 'Station B' Trains between the stations would be stopped, and one train would be 'detrained' [emptied of passengers] at either Station 'A' or 'B' The driver would then take the fire crew on board with basic equipment ... [because the cause is usually fluff on the line] and then would drive slowly along the line The whole process would take at most 20-30 minutes

so what kind of emergency call did the London Fire Brigade 'station control' receive?
which didn't specify an exact location, which closed the line between Cockfosters and Kings Cross
a large stretch of track with 13 stations

And the ENTIRE Northern Line...with over 50 stations out of action?

so why would only the Northern half of the Picadilliy Line be closed...for a 'fire' ...If the ENTIRE Northern Line was closed for a default train?
There is another weird thing: if these two lines were closed due to a terror alert and the lines were actually closed due to al alert recieved by the intelligence services [sic]
why wasn't the ENTIRE circle line closed?
you see, this line would be incredibly useful to a terrorist who could get on from anywhere in the central zone, via any line that connects to it... they could also exit from anywhere from this zone via any line.
If I were a crisis manager and a head of an operation dealing with a possible terror attack, the first thing I would do is close down the CIRCLE LINE [see below in yellow]

can you say 'terror drill' ?... now can you say 'fake terror drill' ?

we are faced with the strange claim that these men, one of whom had a new family, and another whose wife was pregnant, carried bombs set on timers and stood there waiting for them explode.
This makes sense ONLY if they thought they were carrying fake bombs as part of a terror drill. This also explains the nervousness of the man on the bus who had probably just heard of the real explosions and was starting to suspect that the fake bomb he was carrying might not be fake after all.
If these men thought they were committing suicide, why did they buy RETURN TICKETS ON THE TRAIN? Why did they pay for "pay and display" tickets for their cars at the parking area?
"Hey you, Muslim person. Wanna make a hundred pounds? You could use that kind of dough, with a new kid and all. We're running a terror drill, and all you gotta do is take this here harmless backpack with a fake bomb inside to work with you tomorrow, just to see if the subway guards catch you or not. Mum's the word, this is national security and all; you can't tell anyone!"

7/7-Rumour? or Truth?

The story only makes sense if these e-mails to David Ickes site are true

Rumours? Urban Myths?
Correspondence on the London Evening Standard Internet Forum from two people who travelled by tube on the morning of the London bombings:
Hi everyone, Did anyone travelling in BEFORE the attacks began yesterday notice anything peculiar on their tube journey?

I catch the Piccadilly line at 7.15am each morning from Southgate to reach my work in Kensington by 8.00. Normally, all seats are taken by Finsbury Park and carriages are packed by Kings Cross.

However, yesterday my tube journey was eerily quiet. For the first time ever there were spare seats in my carriage all the way through zone 1. It was noticeable enough for me to wonder what on earth was going on. This was at 7.45 - over an hour before attacks began.

I've also heard people saying that the Northern Line was being shut down at the same time. Is there something that we're not being told?
I was due to pick a work colleague up from balham at 7:15am, but when I got there I was greeted with Tube emergency vans, police and and hoards of people being turned away from a closed station.All very strange they must have known something was going to happen, they surely had a tip off. As I drove along the road, (which also follows the tubes) they were all shut and hundreds of people were queuing for buses.
When I reached Oval, which was open there were two armed policemen in a road next to the station, which for a quiet area like that is extremely rare. The northern line was shut from Morden to Stockwell.
They blatantly knew something was going down, they just got it wrong and are hoping no one mentions anything.

thisislondon.co.uk 
Rumour? or Truth? People are waking up... from e-mails sent to David Icke
WHOLE Northern line down

Hi David, In response to the postings which asked if anyone experienced anything strange on Thursday morning - I got to Clapham North tube (Northern line -same as Kings Cross) and the whole line was down - at 8:15am! Usually there are problems with this line, but in my 4 years in London I cannot last remember when the entire line was shut down. Very strange indeed ... Regards Kirsty (K)

suspected fire on Picaddily line - closed 8am -

Hi David, Just wanted to share some thoughts on the bombing of the Piccadilly line with you. The morning of the attack I had overslept by a half hour and was running late for work. I raced down to Arnos Grove station checking my watch as I went, and I had got there at 8:20am. I was expecting a bollocking at work due to my poor timekeeping but what I was not expecting was an absolute mass of bewildered looking sheeple milling around outside wondering how on earth they were going to get to work on time. I checked the information board inside the station and posted there at a little past 8:00 was a message informing everyone that there was no service on the Piccadilly line from Cockfosters to Kings Cross as there was a suspected fire! Now all of this happened before my arrival at 8:20, so my question is what the hell was going from 8 until 8.50 - the time of the bombs detonation? Why was the station closed at that point? Who reported the suspected fire? I guess these are just rhetorical questions because I wouldn't expect an answer from London underground or anyone else for that matter. Hope this is of some interest. infinite love, Lorenzo

Picaddily line - closed 8am - Passengers diverted

David, I am a London bus driver and worked part of Thursday 7th July. I can confirm bus drivers were told just before 8.00am, via radios in their cabs, of a fire alert at Caledonian Road Tube Station on the Piccadilly Line. We were asked to carry passengers in the area and accept thier tickets. This is standard procedure when tube stations close and this sort of request is very much part of our job. Quite what the 'fire alert' entailed that day is now the key question to be answered. Bus drivers were then told at 8.30am approx that honouring the tickets no longer applied. Back to normal. The fateful train to Russell Square would have passed through Caledonian Road not long after this. The next stop on the Piccadilly Line southbound after Caledonian Road tube station is Kings Cross and then Russell Square. Closure of Caledonian Road due to a 'fire' would have also caused closures back up the line, as the Arnos Grove Station account on your website demonstrates. There would of course been a build up of people as well. This meant that from 8.30am approx and for some time after there would have been an even more concentration of people going in and out of Kings Cross and along other lines than normal. I will try and get some thoughts together on one or two other matters. Love

Policeman gives warning...Troops storm office building...

Good afternoon David.

Firstly, thank you for your efforts in bringing us the information you have on your site and your dedication to uncovering the agenda. I have a friend who works in the retail industry and as you would imagine, the topic of conversation with customers has very much been on the subject of the London bombings. He had a couple of interesting stories relayed to him, which tell as follows.

1. One chap was entering Kings Cross when a policeman came running out in front of him. The officer told him to get away quick, as a bomb was about to go off. 30 seconds later, he heard an explosion. How did the policeman know?

2. An office worker in the city was present when army officials burst into the building and told everyone to get down. They proceeded to guard the building and not let anyone out. This office worker was able to look up and see the army pointing guns at a chap outside the door and taking him away.

The troops then left as quickly as they had arrived.

I found these stories to be of interest, as they don't appear anywhere in the media and nor are they likely to. I would very much like other people to know these stories.

Regards

Iain -

7/7-How Independent is Indymedia?

Sunday, January 01, 2006

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?

7/7-3 Trains at Edgware Road?

Sunday, May 07, 2006

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.

J7 Analysis - The Hire Cars At Luton

 

An Analysis of the Cars reported to be found at Luton Station

A summary and analysis of the cars reported to have been used by the alleged suicide bombers on July 7th.

The confusing saga of the cars which were reportedly used by the alleged bombers to travel to Luton has taken a lot of unravelling, since it is full of contradictions, and there are many aspects which simply don’t stand up to analysis.

The first major inconsistency is that at least two sources claim that a car was towed away from Luton station on the day of the attacks as `a matter of routine’:

“A car which could hold vital clues to the London bombings stood undiscovered in a Leighton compound for five days.

It was revealed late on Tuesday night how the vehicle had been routinely recovered from Luton railway station hours AFTER four bombers struck tube trains and a bus in the capital last Thursday.

Police and intelligence services investigating the outrages swooped on a car still parked at Luton station on Tuesday morning and linked it to the suicide bombers.

That was then linked to a second car which had been towed to J & K Recovery Ltd in Grovebury Road, Leighton

By Tuesday evening Beds Police, working alongside the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police, sealed off a 100 metre cordon around the depot and began a painstaking search for evidence and explosives – as had been found in the Luton car.”

Source: Leighton Buzzard Online

“A second car was also taken away from the railway station on the day of attacks as a matter of routine. It was only later police realised it could be linked with the first car. It is now being examined by police at Leighton Buzzard.”

Source: Evening Standard, July 13th 2005

Yet other sources give a different version of events:

“At Luton, a total of five controlled explosions were carried out as bomb disposal experts and forensic teams searched the rental car.The explosives found in the car were detonated separately. A second car was later recovered by police and is being forensically examined in nearby Leighton Buzzard. Police refused to say exactly where it was recovered. A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said the vehicle was not found at the train station but it was also being linked to the terrorist attacks.”

Source: Daily Record

“It appears that the four, described by security sources as "cleanskins" - with no convictions or known terrorist involvement - reached their rendezvous via two or three hired cars, one of which had been located yesterday at Luton station. Explosives were found in the car, police revealed last night. Police were also examining a second car found at the station. It was taken to a storage facility at Leighton Buzzard.”

Source: The Guardian

These reports are fairly ambiguous but give the distinct impression that both cars were found at Luton Station on July 12th – with one car examined at the scene and the other car towed away.

If the other reports are correct, what appears to be Germaine Lindsay’s Fiat had already been towed away on the day of the attacks and was not linked to the attacks, or the other car, (which is generally assumed to by the Nissan Micra rented by Shehzad Tanweer) until July 12th when they discovered and examined the Micra in Luton station car park.

So, the first question to ask is, why was the car towed away in the first place? There are many reports stating that the car was ticketed according to the rules of the car park.

“The rented car of one of the bombers, Germaine Lindsay, that was left in Luton had a seven-day parking sticker on the dashboard. A large quantity of explosives were stored in the trunk of that car, perhaps for another attack.”

Source: International Herald Tribune

It is a strange thing that it had already been towed away before any apparent link with the bombers and Luton had been established.

The second question is, if the second reports are correct, and the Fiat was taken away to Leighton Buzzard after the Micra had been examined, why should that be so? Why tow away one car that may be suspected of containing either bombs or explosives but carry out controlled explosions on another in the exact location it had been found?

The Mirror has a contradictory account of which car had a seven day ticket on the dashboard:

“The Nissan Micra rented by bomber Shehzad Tanweer was left in the station car park in Luton, Beds - where bombers Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay, Hasib Hussain and Sidique Khan caught a train into London - with a seven-day parking ticket stuck inside its windscreen.”

The article goes on to say:

“SUICIDE bombers planned a massive blitz on July 7 with another SIXTEEN devices, it was revealed yesterday. The Islamic extremists who killed 56 people in the London rush-hour left enough explosives, batteries and equipment in their car to launch several more attacks, said police.

Scotland Yard insiders said not all the bombs were complete but were in various stages of assembly. A senior source said: "There is more than one type of bomb. There was a huge quantity of material which, when the scientists got to work, they realised would make about 16 viable bombs ranging in weights, from about a kilo to three kilos."

Source: The Mirror

There are differing reports as to which cars contained explosives. The Daily Mail reported that it was the Micra:

“The London suicide bombers had enough extra explosives in their car to mount two further waves of terror attacks. Police are investigating the possibility that up to nine bombs, primed and ready to use, could have been left in the hired Nissan Micra used by the gang.

Forensic experts will today continue to examine the remains of the car left outside Luton station when the men caught a train to King's Cross. Bomb disposal teams carried out nine controlled explosions on the vehicle using, it is believed, a procedure for dealing with bombs already fitted with detonators.”

Source: Daily Mail

This is backed up by ABC News:

“Sources familiar with the investigation tell ABC News an additional 12 bombs and four improvised detonators were found in the trunk of a car believed to be rented by suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer. Police believe the bombers drove the car to Luton, where they boarded trains to London.”

Source: ABC News

However, The Times said:

“More explosive material was found in the boot of a car at Luton railway station. Bomb disposal experts had to carry out nine controlled explosions. The car, a red Fiat, has been linked to Lindsay, the fourth bomber who lived in nearby Aylesbury.”

Source: The Times

The Australian newspaper also said:

“Lindsay's red Fiat was also found loaded with nine smaller bombs, leaving police speculating about the purpose of the excess explosives if the attackers intended to kill themselves.”

Source: The Australian

It is also unclear whether the contents of the cars are `explosives’ or `bombs’. The pictures leaked to ABC news show ready made bombs, and also detonators. The term `explosives’ can mean any kind of explosive material.

Did one car contain explosives and one car contain the bombs? According to ABC news it is the Micra that contained the bombs contained in the leaked ABC news photographs.

This doesn’t appear to make logical sense, though, if we bear in mind that the Micra is an extremely small car. The suggestion is that not only did 3 quite tall men manage to fit themselves inside it, but also 3 large rucksacks, plus a spare one apparently left under the front passenger seat and a large number of bombs - the exact number of which, as demonstrated by the above reports, is unclear.

A Nissan Micra seems an odd choice of hire car for what the men are accused of using it for. Some reports suggest that Tanweer was using a hire car because his own Mercedes was being fixed.

"Another bomber had just spent a large sum to repair his car. The men carried driver's licenses and other ID cards with them to their deaths, unusual for suicide bombers."

Source: TBR News

If it is true that Shehzad Tanweer was only driving the Micra because his own car was being repaired and not because he somehow wanted to put investigators off the scent (although it would be an ill-considered way of doing it, since he hired it in his own name and used his own credit card as payment) then they could have used any other vehicle to get to Luton. Nissan refer to the Micra as their ‘Baby car and John Doe II at Team 8+ points out that the boot/trunk of a Micra is 251l. [source]

Sounds quite ok? Well, a rucksack of the size the alleged bombers are carrying has a volume of around 80l. So, it would appear that you have the following piled into a Nissan Micra from Leeds to London on the morning of July 7th:

1. Three men of the size of Tanweer, Khan and Hussain
2. Three, probably four, rucksacks of the size seen on photo above (Keep in mind that the bombs were made in Leeds and apparently had to be cooled. So it seems very unlikely that Lindsay arrived with his own bomb)
3. Another rucksack:

“leaving behind in the hire car two bombs consisting of explosives packed into plastic bottles with fuses attached and packed around with nails. These were found in a rucksack beneath the front passenger seat.”

Source: The Times

4. Plus:

“Another 14 potential bomb components, including cakes of high-explosive, were found in the boot."

Source: The Times

5. Plus: cool boxes big enough to cool at least all bombs.

And for a journey of nearly 200 miles from Leeds to Luton you rent one of the smallest car that exists instead of your usual Mercedes? [Team 8 Plus ]

Even more intriguingly, it seems Hasib Hussain had access to a van…

"El-Nashar said that in June, Lindsay asked for help finding a place to live in Leeds, saying he wanted to move there from London with his wife and child.

He said he located quarters for Lindsay through his landlord and was then introduced by Lindsay to a man called Mohammed, who turned out to be Hasib Hussain, another of the July 7 bombers.

Hussain said he had a van and would help Lindsay move his belongings from London."

Source: Associated Press

"Tanweer and Hussain were among people who regularly visited Khan for meetings, sometimes in a white Transit van, when he would serve them drinks and snacks on polystyrene cups and plates."

Source: The Times

If Hussain did have a van, this would surely have been a more sensible mode of transport for the assumed ‘suicide mission’.

Germaine Lindsay apparently had only himself and perhaps a rucksack to transport. If there were no explosives or bombs found in Germaine Lindsay’s car, this fits in with reports that it was towed away on the 7th as a `matter of routine’, as opposed to being towed away AFTER the discovery of the Micra. But, either way, why tow it?

The discrepancies as to the time when the second car was towed away to Leighton are puzzling. John Doe II, at Team8+ also notes

“As the explanation that the Luton car first contained explosives and then bombs while the Leighton car contained nothing is the absurdest explanation we should assume for the sake of the argument that the Leighton car contained bombs. But then why not assure that the car remains where it was parked? What sense do bombs make if they end up being towed away?

But here is a completely different account:

“A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said the vehicle was not found at the train station but it was also being linked to the terrorist attacks. He said they had received a tip-off from the Metropolitan Police and had acted to recover the vehicle”

Source: Daily Record, 7/13/05

But what kind of tip-off could that had been? And what was it based on? (Keep in mind that most likely we talk here about Lindsay’s car and Lindsay wasn’t identified on July 12). And most importantly why then was the car not treated with the caution one would treat a car that might contain bombs?” [Reference]

It does appear that the Micra, and whatever its contents were, was discovered first at Luton station. What is less clear is when and how it was linked to the other car, the Fiat. Please note that it is not completely clear that the second car is a Fiat. It has been most widely reported as such but the model (ie Brava, or Punto) does not seem to have been confirmed which is strange as preciseness of detail would help in the quest for eye-witnesses.

According to the Telegraph:

"It was early on the morning of July 7 that he drove his own car, a red Fiat Bravo, to Luton, where he met the Yorkshire trio who had driven south in a hired car."

Source: The Telegraph

Yet according to the Guardian, Lindsay was the owner of a different model, the Brava:

"Neighbours would see him hurrying to and from his red Fiat Brava"

Source: The Guardian

The Brava is simply a 5-door version of the Bravo, so it could be argued the two are easily confused. The Brava coupé is quite similar in shape to a Fiat Punto, so perhaps it was simply a reporter’s best guess as to what the model was. If the reports of it being the car which was towed away on the day of the attacks are true, though, then it's fair to suggest the reporters didn't even get to see it. It is quite strange how one of the cars has had its model clarified (all the sources seem universally agreed that it's a Nissan Micra) and the other one not. Most reports seem to be playing it safe by just referring to it as a `Fiat'.

Yet another oddity, which was only picked up on in a couple of reports, was that Lindsay had apparently left a gun in his car.

Antiterrorist sources say detectives found two bombs, a gun and ammunition in the boot of a car abandoned by the London bombers at Luton railway station.

Source: Evening Standard, 7/18/05

Meanwhile in Britain it emerged that police had found two bombs, a gun and ammunition in the boot of a car left at Luton train station by the bombers.

Source: NewsEditor

“Detonators and enough of the acetone peroxide-based explosive to make two bombs were found in Lindsay’s car at Luton, along with a gun and ammunition, a senior anti- terrorist source said.”

Source: The Times

Why did the police not disclose the finding of the gun if it was in the same car as the bombs? The Times, in a later article, asks the question:

“Why did Jermaine Lindsay have a gun in his car?”

Source: The Times

But fails to ask why Lindsay – or Tanweer depending on which report is the correct version – had all these extra bombs that they left in the car with no apparent extra terrorists bothering to come and use them during the five days in which they could have done so. And if, as has been widely accepted, these men were suicide bombers, they would presumably have realised they would not be coming back for the spare rucksack and everything else they reportedly left behind. Either way, there appears to be no logic in the issue of the bombs or explosives – and indeed the gun - being left in the car.

By late September, the Micra had changed colour from red to silver [The Times, Daily Mail] and it's interesting to note that the Mail, in a later article which was not made available online, described the car as being `silver blue' as did The Mirror. The Guardian reported it as a `blue Nissan Micra'.

Four different colours - how did something that could surely be easily verified become so obfuscated? If easily verifiable facts such as the colour of a car cannot be established in "the largest criminal inquiry in English history" then what hope is there for establishing other crucial details about the events of 7th July 2005?

It is also an odd thing how the police were reportedly alerted to Luton in the first place in order to find the cars. A member of the public reported the apparently suspicious sight of men alighting from a car in a car park:

"Police were alerted to the Luton car after a member of the public reported seeing four men getting out of it on Thursday morning."

Source: News 24

What was so strange about four men getting out of the car that the member of the public felt it was related to the investigation, and that the police felt it significant enough to follow up? Even stranger, why would four men have been getting out of one car, when we were told they travelled separately in two cars?

There seems only one thing to say with any certainty regarding the issue of the cars that these men are said to have used that day…that there is no consistency at all in the reporting of it. For almost every account there is another that contradicts it and a myriad of questions arising from the lack of verified information on the subject. As time has gone on it has only become more mystifying.

The economics of 7/7 and other mysteries of capitalism

The economics of 7/7 and other mysteries of capitalism explained

 

The economics of 7/7 and other mysteries of capitalism explained

by William Bowles

Monday, February 26, 2007 1:05 PM

‘When politicians wave abstractions around like flags—abstractions like ‘security’ or for that matter ‘freedom’—citizens should be immediately suspicious.”[1]

There is one thing we can be certain of; the capitalist state is in disarray and in crisis. With every passing day its legitimacy crumbles further. Much of its prior claim to any kind of legitimacy depended in large part on ‘defending’ its citizens against an evil foe which for almost three-quarters of a century had been Communism. And like the ‘Red Menace’ the current enemy, ‘Islamic Fundamentalism’, allegedly also possesses ruthless and cunning powers to subvert democracy and penetrate right into the heart of our ‘democracy’. But unlike the enemies of yore, so fiendish is the ‘international Islamic conspiracy’ that our civil and legal rights have to be all but abrogated in yet another ‘war’ to defend these very freedoms!

An awful irony when you consider that for over fifty years, the ‘free world’ waged a war that almost destroyed us in order, we were told, to defend us. But now, in order to justify this frontal assault on ‘democracy’ an enemy like none ever seen before, had to be created.

“It’s possible that through a tyranny of small decisions, we could make a nightmare society”.[2]

This new ‘enemy’ like the former vanquished one was not created overnight, an entire edifice had to be constructed, one piece at a time with the ‘alien’ at its heart. ‘Un-British’ in appearance and allegedly also possessing ‘un-British values’, that it to say, non-Christian and by default non-white, the Muslim fits the role perfectly. Moreover, for over a century, the Arab (read Muslim), cunning, devious and utterly alien in culture and values, has formed the basis for a mythology that found it echoed first in popular fiction and later in movies. Thus a handy ‘hook’ already existed on which to hang the current scapegoat.

There is no doubt that the corporate and state media played a pivotal role in the creation of this ‘enemy within’ but without a physical expression such as bomb plots and other increasingly outlandish acts, or more precisely, threats of attacks, convincing a public which had lived through three decades of REAL IRA bombings without feeling so threatened, it required a new strategy based upon the existence of seemingly irrational individuals, the ‘suicide bomber’, against which the only defence is, we are told, an almost complete ‘lock-down’ of the population through the use of arbitrary arrests and detentions and the use of scare tactics including alleged gas attacks, alleged home-made nuclear weapons, alleged biological agents, indeed an entire armoury of the most outlandish devices against which the only defence is, we are told, is the creation of the total surveillance state.

The media’s role in this state-inspired conspiracy was to demonise a convenient, that is to say, easily recognisable section of society, the Muslim, the new ‘alien within’. Bearded and be-robed and already ghettoised by an institutionally racist society, they became the focus of a hate campaign that has ominous echoes of an earlier period in European history. Over the past year, almost 23,000 people have been stopped and searched under ‘anti-terror’ laws, specifically Section 44 of the infamous 2000 Terrorism Act. No reason is required, merely a policeman’s whim is sufficient cause. Only 27 individuals have been charged under anti-terror laws as a result but the impact on the Asian community has been devastating, further alienating an already alienated section of society. And, as even the police themselves admit, the results have been totally counter-productive.[3]

Even assuming that the country is crawling with terrorists bent on destroying ‘Western civilisation’ (although how setting off a few home-made bombs achieves this end is never explained), the contradictions of the state’s deliberately engineered hysterical response to this alleged threat to ‘civilisation’ makes no sense unless there is a hidden agenda about which we are not informed.

If a country like the former Soviet Union, armed to the teeth and with the massive resources of the state could not achieve the alleged objective of overthrowing capitalism after seventy-five years, it is reasonable to ask the question, why has the British state embarked on a policy of creating a de facto police state replete with laws which have more than a passing similarity to those passed by both Hitler and Mussolini? Enter “fear-based security”.[4]

“Security’ is not something we can have more or less of because it is not a thing at all…[it is] the name we use for a temporally extended state of affairs characterized by the calculability and predictability of the future… The impossibility of guaranteeing security is rooted in the fact that like justice, and like democracy, ‘security’ is not so much an empirical state of affairs but an ideal—an ideal in the name of which a vast number of procedures, gadgets, social relations, and political institutions are designed and deployed”.[5]

To answer this question we have to look elsewhere than a cave in Afghanistan or a council flat in Birmingham or Bolton.

The history of capitalism is full of examples of ‘conspiracies’ allegedly hatched by fanatical groups bent on overthrowing the status quo, from the early trade unionists through to the ‘anarchists’ of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and beyond, all of which required that the full wrath of the state be brought to bear on the unfortunate individuals involved. Importantly, these ‘conspiracies’ were used as an excuse to increase the power of the state’s control over its citizens through the passing of various statutes that limited our democratic ‘rights’ to demonstrate and protest and now, it is even a crime to think about overthrowing the state.

Just as importantly, these ‘conspiracies’ were used to justify various and sundry wars of aggression, whether against Communism or under the cover of fighting Communism, against just wars of national liberation. History is littered with imperialist conspiracies invented to justify these wars including the Tonkin Gulf Incident which led to the war in Vietnam, or the mythical Soviet MiG jets allegedly supplied to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua as well as the non-existent WMDs of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

‘Withdrawing to the sidelines of international debate, as some advocate, or isolating ourselves from the international scene as a way of avoiding the effects of global change, would simply undermine the way we cope and adapt to that change and undermine vital British interests. Withdrawal and isolation is not the road to national liberation but to national ruin.’ ‘PURSUING AN ACTIVE AND ENGAGED FOREIGN POLICY’. Speech by Jack Straw to the House of Commons, (27/11/03)

Dig beneath the propaganda and we come across a phrase which speaks reams about the real reasons for the invention of a ‘terrorist threat’, ‘vital British interests’. But what is meant by ‘vital British interests’? Add another oft-repeated phrase, ‘energy security’, indeed once you start looking, the media and state’s public pronouncements are littered with these phrases, ‘Britain’s national security interests’, recently used to quash the police’s investigation into bribes and kickbacks by BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia.[6]

‘Conspiracy theories abound … Others claim it [the invasion of Iraq] was inspired by oil … [This] theor[y is] largely nonsense.” – The London Independent, April 16, 2003.[7]

Behind the rhetoric lies the real reason for the creation of the ‘terrorist threat’, the mundane world of economics, for ultimately it all comes down to filthy lucre. For five hundred years Western capitalism has ridden roughshod across the planet, plundering and enslaving entire continents, exterminating entire cultures and peoples’ in the pursuit of profit. It has done this, until the 20th century with virtual impunity by virtue of overwhelming military power and control of international trade, itself protected by overwhelming military force.

But following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Western capitalism was stripped of its justification for continuing its pillage of the planet. It needed a new enemy behind which it could continue its operations and one effectively impossible to defeat simply because it not only has no centre, but also because ‘international terror’ simply doesn’t exist except as a propaganda message.

Thus under the guise of fighting the ‘war on terror’, new wars of acquisition were undertaken. However, these wars had to be conducted in these new circumstances largely without the support of the domestic populations.

A new climate of fear had to be engineered to justify imperialist wars of conquest. Above all therefore, what was needed were actual deeds with corpses and culprits, and what better than four ‘Islamic fundamentalists’ who conveniently perished in the carnage of 7 July 2005.

The contradictions and unanswered questions concerning the events of 7 July, 2005 are addressed elsewhere, suffice to say, there are so many holes in the official story that it’s no wonder the government has resisted all demands for a public inquiry, although if the Hutton Report is any measure of what an inquiry under the Blair government is worth, we would learn little of consequence from one and indeed, it can be argued that ‘public inquiries’ effectively quash further investigations by creating the illusion of an ‘independent investigation’.

But whether the four ‘suicide bombers’ were patsies or not (my own take on the events of 7 July), they served their purpose, namely the justification for the creation of a fear-based security state, under which even more repressive laws would be enacted and by extension the continuation of foreign wars of aggression.

It should be obvious therefore, that the ‘war at home’ and the wars conducted in foreign lands are intimately connected. In fact they are the twin components of a vicious circle, this is why the Blair government was so adamant in resisting the connection between the invasion of Iraq and the rise of ‘Islamic radicalism’, though even here it has never been established whether it’s Islam or nationalism that has fueled the rise in activism within the Asian community in the UK. And furthermore, the demonisation of Islam in and of itself is surely a major source of anger and resentment especially amongst young Asians who now suffer the multiple assaults of racism, poverty and a carefully engineered xenophobia.

Ultimately, the capitalist system thrives on the creation of crises, or what Naomi Klein mistakenly calls ‘disaster capitalism’, a new description of an old disease, for in an age of global, electronic surveillance, the business of creating the security state is itself really big business and as ever, so is war. This is good ol’ imperialism just like it used to be back when Brittania ruled the waves.

But even more important than what is in reality the privatisation of state activities, is the fact that the ‘war on terror’ represents a desperate attempt to deal with the vast over-accumulation of capital that has taken place since the fall of the Soviet Union. So great is the volume generated since the fall of ‘communism’ that even wholesale privatisation of great swathes of the ‘global commons’ cannot absorb it all.

As always, war is the ‘solution’, no matter what form it takes, and in order to justify such vast expenditures, just as Bush and Blair openly state, a war without end is required. Figures of fifty years are bandied about lest we don’t get the message.

It is within this crisis that we find the source of the ‘war on terror’ and hence the need for 9/11 and 7/7, for without such invisible ‘enemies’ how can one justify the slaughter let alone the expenditure and the creation of a vast global, electronic, corporate security state?

Notes

1. “Governing Security, Governing Through Security”, in: R.J.Daniels, P. Macklem and Kent Roach (2002), Security of Freedom: Essays on Canada’s Anti-terrorism Bill, , U of T Press, p. 85. [back]

2. “Privacy in an Age of Terror”, by Mike France and Heather Green, Business Week, November 5, 2001. [back]

3. According to a Metropolitan Police Report in the year before last September 2006, the Metropolitan Police performed 22,672 stop-and-searches under section 44. It led to just 27 terror arrests, the Met’s report says. “Its effectiveness … is in serious doubt.” The Ealing Times, 22 February, 2007. [back]

4. ‘Fear-based Security: The Political Economy of ‘Threat’’ By Margaret Beare, Nathanson Centre for the Study of Organized Crime and Corruption [back]

5. “Governing Security, Governing Through Security” [back]

6. ‘Al Yamamah: Another Government Capitulation To Big Business’ [back]

7. ‘AHMED CHALABI – OIL MAN IN BAGHDAD’, William Bowles (18/04/03) [back]