LOOKBACK


7/7 – TWENTY YEARS ON


POLICE remembers the heroism of Britain’s finest as they responded to a cowardly and ghastly act – serial bomb blasts in the heart of our capital


Metropolitan Police Federation Chair Paula Dodds


Twenty years have passed since the 7 July 2005 London bombings – a date that remains seared into the national memory. On that tragic Thursday morning, the United Kingdom witnessed its worst peacetime attack on the mainland, as four coordinated suicide bombings struck the capital’s transport network. Fifty-two innocent lives were lost, and more than 700 people were injured. Amid the horror, confusion, and chaos, the response from the emergency services – and in particular the police – was nothing short of extraordinary. At 0850hrs three bombs detonated almost simultaneously on the London


40 | POLICE | AUGUST | 2025


Underground, targeting trains near Aldgate, Edgware Road, and Russell Square. An hour later, a fourth device was detonated on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. The attacks were carried out by four British-born Islamist extremists. The scale of devastation, the suddenness of the assault, and the profound human toll shocked the nation. But amid the devastation, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), City of London Police, British Transport Police (BTP), and officers from across the capital responded with speed, courage, and compassion. For many officers, that day – and the weeks that followed –


would define their careers. The immediate aftermath was a scene of harrowing complexity. Officers were faced with mangled carriages, crushed buses, panicked members of the public, and reports of further possible attacks. With no confirmation about the nature or scale of the threat, thousands of Metropolitan Police officers flooded central London to restore order, evacuate areas, and protect the public. British Transport Police officers were among the first on the scene underground. At Russell Square, PC Aaron Debnam and PC Andy Maxwell entered the dark, smoke-filled tunnel


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