The failed bombings of 21/7

Unsuccessful attacks in July 2005 'unnerved' London and led to the tragic death of an innocent man

The wreckage of a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square after the 7/7 bombings in 2005
The wreckage of a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square after the 7/7 bombings
(Image credit: Dylan Martinez / AFP / Getty Images)

Twenty years ago today four terrorists killed 52 people and injured more than 700 in suicide bomb attacks on London's public transport.

Two weeks after the horrors of 7/7, there were four more attempted attacks. This time the devices failed to detonate properly but once again London was "unnerved", said historian Dominic Sandbrook on the BBC, but the police investigation led to the tragic death of one innocent man.

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.