Inquests into 7/7 bombings

The inquiry will be the first public examination of the events surrounding the bombings and the blasts themselves. Hearings will be conducted by Lady Justice Hallet, the coroner, over five months into the bombings of three tube trains and a bus on 7th July 2005, killing 52 people and injuring 700.

Amongst other questions the inquiry will also look at whether the Police and MI5 could have done more to prevent the attacks. Earlier this year Lady Justice Hallet said she would look into the backgrounds of the bombers and what the intelligence services knew about them prior to the attacks.

Some families insist MI5 had enough information on one of the bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan, to work out that he was a threat while the security services insist this information was insufficient to predict what happened.

Despite a generally shared feeling of incompetence on behalf of the security services, many are sceptical about this inquest and feel it is too little too late.

Dania Gorodi whose sister Mihaela Otto, 46, died along with 25 others on the Tube in Russell Square, said: "I was always hoping for the government to put their hands up to say we failed to protect these people - this was the biggest crime in British history. But I don't think it's going to happen."

22 year old David Foulkes was amongst those killed in the blast at Edgeware Road. His father Graham Foulkes will be following the inquest closely in hope of some honesty which he feels up until now has been denied to the families of the victims.

"More and more information has come out that clearly shows the intelligence agencies knew about Khan. They had tailed him and watched him. They failed David and the other victims."

The hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice in London are expected to last until March next year.