UK spy chief said no terror threat before 7/7: Report

London, Jan 9: The head of Britain's domestic spy service told a group of senior lawmakers there was no imminent terrorist threat to the country less than 24 hours before the London bombings in July 2005, a newspaper reported today.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, director general of MI5, had been speaking at a private meeting of members of parliament for the governing Labour Party on the morning of July 6, the Guardian said, citing a number of those present.

She assured the group of a dozen parliamentary officials there was ''no imminent threat to London or the country'', the newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying.

The following day, four British Muslim suicide bombers attacked three subway trains and a bus during rush hour in the capital, killing themselves and 52 commuters.

A comment was not immediately available from the Home Office on the report, which drew a scathing response from the main opposition Conservative Party.

David Davis, Conservative spokesman for internal affairs, reiterated a call for an independent rather than a public inquiry into the attacks.

''It is absolutely necessary for the continued security of the British public that we know precisely if, when and how security failures have occurred, and for action to be taken to minimise the risk of it happening again,'' Davis told the paper.

Manningham-Buller said last month she would retire next year after more than three decades in the intelligence service, leaving at a time when MI5 faces heightened pressure to counter new terrorist threats.

The spy chief warned in November that Islamic extremists were plotting at least 30 major terrorist attacks in Britain and the threats may involve chemical and nuclear devices.

Reuters