London blasts: Blair says blasts were "terrorist attacks"

07 July 2005 12:53  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday it was "reasonably clear" that the series of bomb blasts that crippled the London transport system were terrorist attacks, adding that the G8 meeting in Scotland would not be disrupted.

 

Blair said he will break away from the G8 meeting to travel to London to get a first-hand account of the explosions. Among the topics on the G8 agenda are poverty in Africa and global warming.

 

Transport links in London and into the capital were suspended or severely disrupted following as many as seven blasts. In a televised speech to the nation, Blair said it was “reasonably clear” that these were terrorist attacks.

 

“All leaders share our complete resolution to defeat this terrorism,” Blair said referring to the G8 participants.

 

Blair declared: “It is our determination to defend our values and way of life as greater than their determination to cause death and destruction of innocent people in the desire to impose extremism on the world.”

 

He added: “It is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and other civilised nations around the world.”

 

The attacks caused extensive disruption and the loss of lives in one of the business parts of central London. However, they do not yet appear to have been on the scale of the tragic bombings in Bali in 2003 and Madrid in 2004.

By: Nigel Davis
+44 20 8652 3214

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