Londoners were gritting their teeth for the return to work on Monday even as police searched crumpled underground train wreckage for clues to track the terror bombers, spurred by fear of a new attack.
After a day of prayers for the victims, mingled with memories of World War II heroism on the 60th anniversary of the conflict’s end, people prepared to descend into subway trains and ride the buses again.
Most of the London underground system apart from the blast sites will be open, said Andy Trotter, deputy chief constable of the British transport police.
”London is open for business tomorrow as well,” he said.
”We believe that with all the efforts of everyone involved, including Londoners, we can defeat the terrorists. By not coming to work, by London not being open for business, they will win and they are not going to win.”
Police said 49 bodies had been hauled out of the four blast sites, a blown-apart number 30 double-decker bus and three London underground train tunnels, and they hoped to find no more.
The three train blasts in London occurred on Thursday within 50 seconds of one another at about 8:50am (7.50am GMT), a level of coordination that bore the hallmarks of an attack by suspected al-Qaeda operatives, and there have been two claims of responsibility by groups linked to the organisation.
”I am confident that the perpetrators will be brought to justice in the end,” British Home Secretary Charles Clarke told the BBC.
”Our fear is of course of more attacks until we succeed in tracking down the gang that committed the atrocities on Thursday,” Clarke said.
”That is why the number one priority has to be the catching of the perpetrators.”
Investigators say they have already established that the bombers used a high explosive — they will not disclose further details — and that each device was lighter than 4,5kg.
Deep beneath London’s streets, the detective work was gruelling, particularly in a narrow section of the Piccadilly Line between Russell Square and King’s Cross where a devastated six-carriage train is jammed into a rat-infested, oven-hot tunnel.
”This work will be slow, methodical and meticulous,” said Trotter.
A motor driven trolley was taking workers and equipment through the tunnel to the site, at least 600m from Russell Square towards Kings Cross.
In the shadow of the attacks, tens of thousands of people swarmed to the gates of Buckingham Palace on Sunday to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II on a day of defiant commemorations.
The assembled World War II veterans refused to be bowed.
”If that Hitler and [former Japanese emperor] Hirohito couldn’t break us, I don’t see anyone managing now. We Brits are resilient, you can’t get us like that,” said Desmond Morris, an 86-year-old veteran.
In the evening, prayers were said at a candlelit service in St Paul’s Cathedral for World War II dead and veterans, and for the terror bombing victims.
Londoners also prayed in St Pancras Church, steps from the blast that shredded a double-decker bus.
”The people who carried out these attacks are victims of a false religion, be it false Chistianity or false Islam,” Father Paul Hawkins told the congregation.
As worshippers left the service, they could see a team of forensic experts, placing heel against toe, their eyes glued to the ground for scraps of evidence.
Behind them, a large white tarpaulin hung like a stage curtain, blocking access to Tavistock Square where the number 30 bus was blown up, killing 13 people.
Detectives appealed to the public for any photographs, video footage or cellphone images taken around the attacks.
”This was a callous and cowardly attack on members of the public,” said Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard anti-terrorist branch.
”These images may contain crucial information which may help detectives in this complex and painstaking inquiry.”
In a show of religious unity, British Muslim, Christian and Jewish clerics joined to denounce the bombings.
Reading from a joint statement, Muslim leader Sheikh Zaki Badawi said they had united ”to express our shared commitment to resisting and overcoming the evil of terrorism” in the wake of the bombings.
”It is an evil that cannot be justified and that we utterly condemn and reject.”
Police said there had been an increase in the number of racially and religiously-motivated hate crimes since the terror bombings, most involving damage to property or threats.
‘Life is so short that you just have to make the most of it’
A ring of human grief is growing daily around a tree outside a station close to the deadliest of last week’s bomb attacks in London, where bunches of flowers, toys, cards and candles commemorate the victims.
King’s Cross station, north London, lies at the epicentre of the bombings on underground trains and a bus that killed at least 49 people on Thursday, and it has drawn hundreds of mourners from all walks of life to unite in their sorrow.
Weeping silently or heads bent low, locals and tourists pass behind a wire fence outside the station into a small enclosure where hundreds of bouquets of flowers have been placed in a careful ring around a leafy, green tree.
Posters offering words of condolence, as well as pride for being a Londoner, line one wall while smaller messages on cards or note paper lie carefully placed amongst the floral wreaths and other tributes on the floor.
”It is a horrible time, but at the same time this experience has humbled me and made me realise life is so short that you just have to make the most of it,” said Patricia Foster (35) a youth worker, whose friend is among some 30 people listed as missing following the attacks.
”I feel sickened by everything really. My heart and my prayers are with the people who are missing. I am literally praying every day for them,” said Foster, her voice trembling with emotion as she gazed at the makeshift shrine.
The scene is a chilling re-run of the emotional outpouring in the United States following the September 11, 2001, atrocities in New York and Washington.
Anguished couples hug each other as they stoop to read the cards or add their own tributes to the ever-expanding memorial that started with just a couple of bunches of flowers in the hours after the attacks.
”To the victims of this incident. Our hearts and souls are with you,” said one message, written on a simple sheet of paper.
”Rest in peace innocent angels. Justice will be served. We will not be terrorised by these losers,” said another, written on gold-coloured card and signed, ”Forever in NZ’s hearts Bela Carla Clare.”
Religious groups have also sent messages, with members of St Andrews Church in Islington, north London, contributing a poster of hand-written poems.
”I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to see what this was all about,” said JT Barnard, a dentist from South Africa, who had walked to the station to pay his respects while on a business trip to London.
”My country’s flag is there as well so that was particularly moving to me,” he said, referring to a South African drape that hung on the poster wall.
Compounding London’s sense of loss, the relatives and friends of those who vanished on Thursday have also created a painful patchwork of photographs and messages appealing for information on a bus shelter nearby.
”Missing James Mayo”, said one black and white poster, showing the smiling face of a young-looking man with dark hair who caught a train that fateful morning and has not been seen since. – Sapa-AFP