London to build July 7 bomb attacks memorial garden

London, May 18 : A memorial garden to the 52 people murdered in the July 7 London bomb attacks is to be built in Tavistock Square, site of the explosion on a double-decker bus which killed 13.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said yesterday work would begin shortly on plans for the memorial after consultation with the families involved.

Four Islamist suicide bombers caused carnage on three London underground trains and the bus last year. Some 700 people were also injured.

Jowell said a two-minute silence would be held at noon on July 7, 2006, followed by a commemorative event in Regent's Park.

''The terrorist attacks in London last July were a dark hour in our history,'' she said in a statement. ''They left 52 grieving families and hundreds of people injured. The lives of many of those caught up in the atrocity will never be the same again.

''Two minutes of silence at noon on 7 July will bring the whole nation together to pay tribute. We will remember the loss of the bereaved families, the suffering of the injured and all those who selflessly aided them.

''The silence, the permanent memorial and the commemoration will give us all a way to remember the dead and give a voice to what is still unutterable grief.'' Jowell told Sky news she hoped the memorial garden would be a ''quiet, dignified place'' where families could go to remember their loved ones, similar to the memorial garden created in Grosvenor Square after the Sept. 11 2001 US attacks.

Reuters