Britain came to a standstill Thursday at noon local time for two minutes of silence in memory of the victims of the London suicide bombings a week ago, the worst terror attack to date against the country.
People poured out of buildings into the hushed streets of London, where bus drivers turned off their engines, and cars and taxis drew to a halt to pay their respects to the more than 50 people killed and 700 injured in last Thursday’s bombings.
Flags flew at half-mast as Queen Elizabeth II joined the nation in the solemn tribute to the London dead.
Across the nation, shops, offices, factories, radio and television studios went quiet.
As Big Ben tolled the 12 strokes of noon, the queen stood in silence outside Buckingham Palace, while across Britain and Europe millions paused in a collective expression of solidarity, grief and anger.
In London, crowds streamed into Trafalgar Square for the observance.
“It’s important to show solidarity at a time like this,” Michael Newport, an executive at Westminster City Council, said after paying his respects in the square.
Just before noon, a voice announced on the loudspeaker: “Please join us in observing two minutes’ silence.”
One of the mourners at the square, 25-year-old Fabio Medeiros from north London, said his wife had been near the site of the King’s Cross blast on Thursday.
“I wanted to come along today to celebrate the lives of those who have been killed,” he said.
Waves of spontaneous applause broke out across the capital following the silent tribute.
Another house investigated
Meanwhile, British investigators carried out on Thursday a forensic examination at a non-descript house in Aylesbury, north-west of London, that may yield more clues into the London bombings and the men behind it.
Following Tuesday’s raids on six homes in the northern English city of Leeds, anti-terrorist police swooped late on Wednesday on the house.
Aylesbury lies about 30km from Luton, where the four suspected bombers are believed to have boarded a train on their way to the capital last Thursday.
Police say three of the bombers came from Leeds, and that they joined a fourth accomplice in Luton before heading to London to carry out the deadly attacks.
It is thought the house in Northern Road in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, may be connected to one of the cars recovered by police at Luton railway station.
Niknam Hussain, a local councillor, said he understood from police that the property was occupied by a man who had “connections with a car in Luton”.
However, no arrests were made and no explosive substances are believed to have been found at the property.
“A detailed forensic examination is expected to be carried out and may take some time to complete,” a Thames Valley police spokesperson said. “This is in connection with the ongoing investigation into the terrorist attack in London on July 7.”
Neighbour Nicholas Doe said the raid centred on a small block of commercial premises near his house, which includes a taxi firm and a hairdresser.
The neighbourhood is “generally quiet”, comprising mainly small terraced houses, and has a large Asian presence.
British newspapers have said the suicide bombers were all Britons of Pakistani origin who lived in and around Leeds. All are thought to have died in the blasts.
Media have identified three of them as Shehzad Tanweer (22), Mohammed Sadique Khan (30) and Hasib Mir Hussain (18). The fourth suspected suicide bomber has not been named.
With all the bombers assumed to be dead, the police hunt has switched to tracking down their accomplices, notably whoever led the operation, or manufactured the bombs.
The Times newspaper reported that police have identified a suspect — a British-born man of Pakistani origin, who arrived at a British port last month and left the country the day before the London attacks, and is thought to have visited the bombers in their home town.
According to the Times, police are also urgently trying to find an Egyptian-born chemistry lecturer who taught until recently at Leeds University.
The paper identified him as M Asdi el-Nashar (33) and said he is understood to have rented one of the Leeds addresses where explosives were found.
The Guardian, meanwhile, quoted a senior security source as saying the hunt could involve more people than at first thought.
“We could be looking for a fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth man,” the source told the paper. — AFP