20 Years Since Al-Qaeda’s London Bombing Plot: Global Diplomats, PM Keir Starmer, and King Charles Pay Tribute
London | July 7, 2025
On Monday, July 7, 2025, the United Kingdom marked the 20th anniversary of the 2005 London public transport bombings—considered the deadliest attack on the British capital since World War II. King Charles III, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and countless Londoners gathered together in solemn remembrance.
On the morning of July 7, 2005, during rush hour, coordinated suicide bombings struck three underground trains and a double-decker bus, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770 others. The attackers were four British citizens inspired by al-Qaeda. It was the first suicide bombing on European soil.
Two weeks later, four other individuals attempted a similar attack, but their explosives failed to detonate, and no one was harmed.
The tragedy remains deeply etched in London’s collective memory. Commemorations were held at the 7/7 Memorial in Hyde Park and during a remembrance service at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
At exactly 8:50 AM—the time of the first explosion 20 years ago—Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan laid wreaths at the Hyde Park memorial, which features 52 steel pillars representing each of the victims. Transport workers and passengers at stations near the blast sites observed a minute of silence.
A survivor told the BBC:
“You feel grateful to be alive, yet there is overwhelming grief. But there’s still anger that the investigation didn’t go as far as it should have.”
She also recalled an act of bravery—how an injured passenger crawled through the tunnel to give her first aid and likely saved her life.
In a heartfelt message, King Charles said:
“My deepest prayers and thoughts are with all those whose lives were forever changed on that dreadful summer day.”
He added that the nation should take pride in the courage and compassion shown by emergency responders and ordinary citizens, stories that emerged from the darkness of that day.
“The spirit of unity that helped London and our country recover should continue to inspire us,” he said.
Charles concluded:
“On this 20th anniversary, let us honor those we lost by renewing our commitment to building a society where people of all faiths and backgrounds live together in mutual respect and understanding—and where we always stand firm against those who seek to divide us.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a separate statement, said:
“Those who sought to divide us failed. We stood together then, and we stand together now.”
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described July 7, 2005, as “one of the darkest days in the country’s history.”
She emphasized that even after 20 years, “Islamist extremist terrorism remains the greatest threat to national security,” followed by far-right terrorism, hostile state actors, organized crime networks, and emerging forms of “hybrid threats” including cyberattacks.
