Detective recalls the 2005 London Bombings

On July 7 2005, three trains and a bus were blown up in a coordinated terrorist attack that killed 52 civilians and injured 800 more.

The first three bombs detonated on different trains on the London underground, all within 50 seconds of each other. The fourth bomb was detonated about an hour later on a bus at Tavistock Square.

London detective Gary Powell was sitting in his office when he heard the final bomb explode.

Former detective Gary Powell tells the story of the London Bombings on this episode of Crime Insiders:

Powell called it the “largest single terrorist attack” in England since the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing.

He said “no one really knows” why the men targeted people travelling on the London underground.

“Probably there’s people out there now that still don’t travel in the underground system because of that.”

Powell said the police should have done more to see the attack ahead of time but praised the “resilience” of the English population. 

“People were really scared and quite rightly too. But they still went back to work. They still went out on social evenings.”

By Zack Goutzoulas, a Master of Journalism student at the University of Melbourne.

Subscribe to Crime Insiders, taking you beyond true crime. In groundbreaking interviews, explore the world of policing and forensics through stories from the world’s most experienced and decorated experts.