London bomb victims let down by emergency planning

LONDON, Sep 22 (Reuters) Victims of last year's deadly London suicide bomb attacks were let down by poor emergency planning and there are still lessons to be learned, a Home Office report said today.

It admitted that anti-terrorism plans failed to deal adequately with the aftermath of the bomb attacks by four British Islamists on London's transport network on July 7 which left 52 commuters dead and more than 700 wounded.

Victims and families did not get the support they required, communications systems used by emergency services had flaws, and police could not cope with the number of calls from worried relatives which peaked at 43,000 inquiries an hour.

However, the professionalism and bravery of the emergency workers on the day meant many lives were saved, said the ''Lessons Learned'' report, which was based on interviews with survivors and families of the bereaved.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said mistakes had been made.

''It is clear that more could have been done to support all those who were caught up in the attacks -- on the day and in the weeks and months that followed,'' she said.

WALKING WOUNDED In the confusion following the bombings on three underground trains and a bus, the first suicide attacks in western Europe, many of the walking wounded had to make their own way home without receiving any medical treatment.

''Many were left feeling forgotten or unimportant,'' the report said.

''Some felt that only the most severely injured received adequate support and information from the police and support agencies.'' Concerned relatives also had to trawl hospitals with photos looking for missing family members.

Many survivors argue that only a full public inquiry, which the government has refused to hold arguing it would distract the security services, would fully address all the issues.

''Though the members of the emergency services and police and the ambulance dispatchers and the hospital workers, and many other ordinary people were heroic, angelic, it was still a mess, especially afterwards -- and we still need an independent inquiry,'' wrote survivor Rachel North on her Internet blog.

Ministers had been confident that plans were in place to deal with any major attack, and the emergency services had carried out a number of high-profile drills to prepare.

The report said improvements had already been made.

However, it called for the urgent creation of a network of suitable emergency centres to be set up across the country and for improvements to be made to communications equipment.

The Conservatives said the report supported their call for a dedicated minister to cover security issues.

''The government should also have a single, independent inquiry into the July bombings so we can truly learn the lessons of this attack and improve our preparedness,'' added home affairs spokesman David Davis.

Reuters DKA GC1709