British Prime Minister
Tony Blair condemned a series of terrorist attacks upon
London as “barbaric” and said the July 7 bombings
appeared aimed to coincide with the Group of Eight (G8)
summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Speaking to the press shortly after the
attacks occurred, Blair said those engaged in terrorism
should realize that the G8 countries’ “determination
to defend our values and our way of life is greater than
their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent
people in a desire to impose extremism on the world.
“Whatever they do, it is our determination
that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold
dear,” both in the United Kingdom and in other civilized
nations, he said.
The British leader said the attacks were
“particularly barbaric” because “this
has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to
help the problems of poverty in Africa, and the long term
problems of climate change and the environment.”
The prime minister said he was leaving the
G8 summit in order to get a “face-to-face” report
with British authorities on the attacks before returning
to Gleneagles later July 7.
He added that he and his counterparts at
the G8, French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister
Paul Martin, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and
U.S. President Bush, have decided to continue the summit
meetings during Blair’s temporary absence.
“[W]e should continue to discuss the
issues that we were going to discuss, and reach the conclusions
which we were going to reach. Each of the countries round
that table have some experience of the effects of terrorism
and all the leaders, as they will indicate a little bit
later, share our complete resolution to defeat this terrorism,”
Blair said.
On the morning of July 7, four blasts in
London killed at least two and injured more than 300 people,
according to news reports. British officials report three
blasts on the London subway and confirm an explosion tore
open a double-decker bus at Russell Square in central London.
According to the Associated Press, as of 2:14 p.m. local
time, officials at seven hospitals reported that 334 people
had been wounded, including more than 120 who were treated
and released.
At 8:49 a.m. local time, an incident was
reported to the British Transport Police on the subway line
between Liverpool Street and Aldgate station. At 9:33 a.m.,
another incident was reported on the subway at Edgware Road
and King’s Cross in North London. At 10:23 a.m., British
Transport Police confirmed an explosion on a bus in Tavistock
Square.
On July 7, President Bush also issued a
statement condemning the bombings in London. (See
related article.)
For additional information, see Response
to Terrorism.
Following is the statement by British Prime
Minister Tony Blair:
(begin text)
10 Downing Street
PM's statement on London explosions
July 7, 2005
I am just going to make a short statement
to you on the terrible events that have happened in London
earlier today, and I hope you understand that at the present
time we are still trying to establish exactly what has happened,
and there is a limit to what information I can give you,
and I will simply try and tell you the information as best
I can at the moment.
It is reasonably clear that there have been
a series of terrorist attacks in London. There are obviously
casualties, both people that have died and people seriously
injured, and our thoughts and prayers of course are with
the victims and their families.
It is my intention to leave the G8 within
the next couple of hours and go down to London and get a
report, face-to-face, with the police, and the emergency
services and the Ministers that have been dealing with this,
and then to return later this evening.
It is the will of all the leaders at the
G8 however that the meeting should continue in my absence,
that we should continue to discuss the issues that we were
going to discuss, and reach the conclusions which we were
going to reach. Each of the countries round that table have
some experience of the effects of terrorism and all the
leaders, as they will indicate a little bit later, share
our complete resolution to defeat this terrorism.
It is particularly barbaric that this has
happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help
the problems of poverty in Africa, and the long term problems
of climate change and the environment. Just as it is reasonably
clear that this is a terrorist attack, or a series of terrorist
attacks, it is also reasonably clear that it is designed
and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G8. There
will be time to talk later about this.
It is important however that those engaged
in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our
values and our way of life is greater than their determination
to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire
to impose extremism on the world. Whatever they do, it is
our determination that they will never succeed in destroying
what we hold dear in this country and in other civilised
nations throughout the world.
(end text)
