Timeline of the 2005 London bombings
Encyclopedia
The following is a timeline of the 7 July 2005 London bombings
and 21 July 2005 London bombings
.
All times are in British Summer Time
(BST
or UTC+01:00).
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
and 21 July 2005 London bombings
21 July 2005 London bombings
On 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks disrupted part of London's public transport system two weeks after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The explosions occurred around midday at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval stations on London Underground, and on a bus in Shoreditch...
.
All times are in British Summer Time
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
(BST
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
or UTC+01:00).
7 July 2005
- 08:50: Initial reports of an incident between Liverpool StreetLiverpool Street stationLiverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
and AldgateAldgateAldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
tubeLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
stations, either an explosion or a collision between trains. The reports from the two stations were initially thought to relate to two separate incidents - 08:50: Explosion on train between King's Cross and Russell SquareRussell SquareRussell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. To the north is Woburn Place and to the south-east is Southampton Row...
tube stations. Eyewitnesses report explosion appeared to come from outside the train (this explosion was initially reported to have happened at 08:56). - 08:50: Explosion on train at Edgware Road tube station (this explosion was initially reported to have happened at 09:17).
- 09:28: Tube operator MetronetMetronetMetronet Rail was one of two companies in a public-private partnership with London Underground.Metronet was responsible for the maintenance, renewal, and upgrade of the infrastructure on nine London Underground lines from 2003 to 2008. This included track, trains, signals, civil work and stations...
says the incident was caused by some sort of power surge. - 09:33: Reports of an incident at Edgware Road tube station. Reports that passengers on a train hit by an explosion attempted to break windows with umbrellas in order to escape.
- 09:46: British Transport PoliceBritish Transport PoliceThe British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
announce there had been more explosions at King's Cross, Old StreetOld StreetOld Street is a street in east London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, to the crossroads where it intersects with Shoreditch High Street , Kingsland Road and Hackney Road in Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney.The nearest...
, MoorgateMoorgateMoorgate was a postern in the London Wall originally built by the Romans. It was turned into a gate in the 15th century. Though the gate was demolished in 1762, the name survives as a major street in the City of London...
, and Russell Square. - 09:47: Explosion on number 30 bus travelling between Marble ArchMarble ArchMarble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England...
and Hackney WickHackney WickHackney Wick is an area straddling the boundary between the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It is an inner-city development situated 5 miles northeast of Charing Cross...
at Upper Woburn Place/Tavistock SquareTavistock SquareTavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden with a fine garden.-Public art:The centre-piece of the gardens is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which was installed in 1968....
. - 09:49: Entire London UndergroundLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
system shut down. - 10:00: National Grid announces there had been no problem with power surges.
- 10:40: First report of fatalities, government source speaks of 20 dead.
- 11:08: Bus services suspended across central LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 11:10: Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan policeMetropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
CommissionerCommissionerCommissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Ian BlairIan BlairIan Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, QPM is a retired British Police officer who held the position of commissioner of police of the metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service.On 2 October 2008 Blair announced that he would...
confirms fears that it is a coordinated terror attack, but appeals for calm, asking people not to travel to London or make unnecessary calls to the emergency services. - 12:05: Prime Minister Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
speaks out on the incident, calling the attacks a coordinated series of 'barbaric' terrorist attacks. - 17:30: Having flown back from ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, from the G8G8The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
Summit, Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
emerges from a meeting in Downing Street and urges the public not to 'be terrorised'. - 18:13: Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Brian PaddickBrian PaddickBrian Leonard Paddick is a British politician, and was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral election, 2008, coming third behind Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone...
confirms 37 fatalities: two in the bus explosion at Upper Woburn Place/Tavistock Square, seven at Liverpool Street/Aldgate, seven at Edgware Road, and twenty-one in the King's Cross/Russell Square blast, as well as around seven hundred injuries, with roughly three hundred of those being transported by ambulance to London hospitals. - 21:40: The Metropolitan Police announce that a person injured in one of the blasts has since died in hospital care.
8 July 2005
- 11:00: Metropolitan Police press conference. Confirmed that there are four blast sites - three on the underground and one on the bus - not six as briefly thought. Gives update on casualties: "The number of deaths stands at more than 50. There were 700 casualties, 350 of whom were treated at the scene, 350 of whom have been treated at hospital. 22 people are in a serious condition in hospital and one person has since died."
- 15:00: Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
visits victims of the attacks at the Royal London HospitalRoyal London HospitalThe Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
, and speaks out against terrorism. - 15:30: Police Commissioner Ian Blair and Mayor of LondonMayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Ken LivingstoneKen LivingstoneKenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
hold press conference. Confirm total of thirteen people killed in Tavistock Square bomb.
9 July 2005
- 12:30: Press conference given by Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant CommissionerDeputy Assistant CommissionerDeputy assistant commissioner is a rank in London's Metropolitan Police Service between assistant commissioner and commander. It is equivalent to deputy chief constable in other British police forces and wears the same insignia: a pip above crossed tipstaves within a wreath.The rank was introduced...
Brian PaddickBrian PaddickBrian Leonard Paddick is a British politician, and was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral election, 2008, coming third behind Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone...
, British Transport PoliceBritish Transport PoliceThe British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
Deputy Chief Constable Andy Trotter and London UndergroundLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
Managing Director Tim O'Toole. Confirmed that the three explosions on the Underground occurred at around 8.50am. - 19:30: After a security alert, Police evacuate the City Centre of BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
12 July 2005
- 06:30: Having identified three suspects from CCTVClosed-circuit televisionClosed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
footage, a missing person's report and documents found in the debris at each bomb site, armed police and army bomb disposal experts conduct three raids in the Beeston and Holbeck areas of LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and two in nearby DewsburyDewsburyDewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
, in West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. The Metropolitan Police lead this operation, working in conjunction with West Yorkshire Police. http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1527404,00.html, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4674463.stm - 11:30: Up to 600 residents are evacuated from the area of a sixth raid, in the BurleyBurley- Place names :* Places in England:** Burley, Hampshire** Burley, Leeds** Burley, Rutland** Burley, Shropshire** Burley in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England* Places in the United States:** Burley, Idaho** Burley Manor, listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
area of Leeds. Residents are unable to return to their homes for two days following the confirmation that explosives have been found at the site. http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1527687,00.html - 13:20: A controlled explosion is carried out at the site of the raid in Burley.
- LutonLutonLuton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
railways station is closed as police investigate a car parked there and believed to be associated with the suspects caught on CCTV cameras. After a series of controlled explosions the car is taken away for further examination.
13 July 2005
- A raid by police and bomb disposal experts takes place at a house in AylesburyAylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
in BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, after the identification of a fourth suspect. - In response to public pressure, the United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
bases at RAF LakenheathRAF LakenheathRAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...
and RAF MildenhallRAF MildenhallRAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...
in SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
lift travel bans imposed on service personnel in the wake of the bombings.http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1527400,00.html
3 August 2005
- Piccadilly Line returns to service. http://www.tubelines.com/news/releases/200602/20050803.aspx
21 July 2005
- 12:26: Small explosions occur at Shepherd's Bush tube station (Hammersmith and City Line)Shepherd's Bush tube station (Hammersmith and City Line)Shepherd's Bush Market tube station is a London Underground station in the district of Shepherd's Bush in west London, England. It is on the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines, between Goldhawk Road and Wood Lane stations, and it is in Travelcard Zone 2....
, Warren Street tube stationWarren Street tube stationWarren Street tube station is a London Underground station, located at the intersection of Tottenham Court Road and Euston Road. It is on the branch of the Northern Line, between and , and the Victoria Line between and Euston. It is in Travelcard Zone 1 and is the nearest tube station to...
and Oval tube stationOval tube stationOval tube station in Kennington is a station on the Northern line of the London Underground between Stockwell and Kennington stations. It is the only station on the Morden branch of the Northern line whose name begins with a vowel and is one of only two stations on the London Underground with only...
. - 13:30: A backpack is reported as exploding in east London on the Number 26 bus travelling from WaterlooWaterloo stationWaterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
to Hackney WickHackney Wick railway stationHackney Wick railway station is on the North London Line in the London Borough of Hackney, on the northern side of the boundary between Hackney and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in east London. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground...
. - 14:30: University College HospitalUniversity College HospitalUniversity College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....
is cordoned off by police, it is feared that the bomber from the Warren Street tube stationWarren Street tube stationWarren Street tube station is a London Underground station, located at the intersection of Tottenham Court Road and Euston Road. It is on the branch of the Northern Line, between and , and the Victoria Line between and Euston. It is in Travelcard Zone 1 and is the nearest tube station to...
, opposite, ran into the building. - 14:45: WhitehallWhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
, which was previously sealed off after the explosions, is reopened. - 15:25: A major security alert again closes WhitehallWhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
- 15:30: A man carrying a backpack is arrested by armed police outside the Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
in WhitehallWhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
, approximately 20 metres from Downing StreetDowning StreetDowning Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an... - 16:00: Sir Ian BlairIan BlairIan Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, QPM is a retired British Police officer who held the position of commissioner of police of the metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service.On 2 October 2008 Blair announced that he would...
now describes the situation as "firmly under control".
22 July 2005
- 10:00: Jean Charles de MenezesJean Charles de MenezesJean Charles de Menezes was a Brazilian man shot in the head seven times at Stockwell tube station on the London Underground by the London Metropolitan police, after he was misidentified as one of the fugitives involved in the previous day's failed bombing attempts...
is shot dead by plain clothesUndercoverBeing undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
Police at Stockwell tube stationStockwell tube stationStockwell tube station is a London Underground station in Stockwell, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is located on the Northern Line between Oval and Clapham North, and on the Victoria Line between Brixton and Vauxhall. It is the southernmost station on the London Undergound that serves more...
.
27 July 2005
- 04:30: Yasin Hassan OmarYasin Hassan OmarYasin Hassan Omar was convicted for his role in the attempted 21st July attacks on London's public transport system. He was found guilty of attempting to detonate a device on the London Underground Victoria Line tube train between Warren Street and Oxford Circus tube stations...
, suspected of the failed attack at Warren Street on 21 July 2005, along with 3 other men, is arrested in Heybarnes Road, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. He was carrying a rucksack when he was arrested and, after resisting arrest, was hit with a TaserTaserA Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
stun gunStun gunStun gun may refer to:*Electroshock weapon, an incapacitant weapon that momentarily disables a person with an electric shock*Directed-energy weapon, a weapon that emits energy in an aimed direction without projectile, if it causes unconsciousness...
. Later he is taken to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for questioning by the Police.BBC.
29 July 2005
- 11:30: Of the other three suspected attempted suicide bombers allegedly linked to the 21 July explosions, two are arrested in London. On that same day, Hussain Osman, the fourth suspect, is arrested in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2005/07/29/london-raid050729.html