![Image]( "Policeman 'raped vulnerable women'")
A blackmailing police officer preyed on vulnerable women he met on duty, gave them drugs and raped them, a court has heard.
Pc Stephen Mitchell, 42, made advances towards heroin addicts, a disabled teenager and a middle-aged shop-lifter in an interview suite at Pilgrim Street Police Station, in Newcastle city centre, a jury was told.
The officer, from Glasgow, denies five counts of rape, six indecent assaults and 15 counts of misconduct in a public office, said to have occurred between 1999 and 2006. The charges relate to 16 complainants Mitchell met in the line of duty, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Paul Sloan QC, prosecuting, said Mitchell repeatedly raped a heroin addict who asked him to help her get back her children from care. The woman, now in her 30s and from North Tyneside, said he gave her heroin when he picked her up in his car and even gave her money to buy foil and a lighter from a shop so she could take it. Mr Sloan said the officer then told her: "I have done you a favour, I want you to do one for me." He then forced her to commit a sex act on him, the court heard.
Days later he threatened to plant heroin in her home if she did not get into his car, Mr Sloan said, where she performed another sex act. The next day the defendant drove her to a dirt track, Mr Sloan said. "This time, in addition to the threat to plant drugs, the defendant was telling her that if she did not do as he said he would ensure that her children were taken away from her for good," Mr Sloan said. "This time he raped her." He forced himself on her on several more occasions, the court heard.
He promised he would help her get her children back, though she never did. He also gave her more drugs, it was alleged.
After she was arrested for failing to attend a court hearing, she was granted bail and Mitchell drove her home. On the way he parked and made her perform sex acts on him, the court heard.
"He then told her he was going to have sex with her and that this would be the last time," Mr Sloan said. "(He said) 'It will be over soon and I will let you go'. He proceeded to rape her, covering her mouth when she screamed."
The officer, who joined up in 1998, told one heroin addict in custody that "he could make things messy for her", the court heard. He then visited her home in Newcastle repeatedly and had unprotected sex with her.
The case was adjourned until Wednesday.
Three men are facing life sentences for killing an IT expert after snatching his girlfriend's Halloween hat.
Ben Gardner, 30, was punched to the ground where he lay helpless as one of the men kicked his head "as if taking a penalty".
Allanna Devine, 28, was also punched in the attack on October 31 last year, the Old Bailey heard.
Daniel Ransom, 21, Ross Collender, 21, and Jordan Dixon, 18, all of Carshalton, Surrey, were found guilty of murder by 11 to 1 majorities. They were remanded in custody until sentencing on Friday.
Mr Gardner, who worked for insurance firm Legal & General, had been to a club with Miss Devine to celebrate her birthday and Halloween last year. She was dressed in a pirate's outfit, with a black wig and hat. He had a black leather jacket and vampire fangs.
In the early hours of the morning, Miss Devine was waiting for Mr Gardner outside a kebab shop in Sutton when a group of men snatched her black hat and wig.
Miss Devine broke down as she spoke of Mr Gardner's last moments. She said: "My hat and my wig were taken from my head. I was not concerned about it because it was the end of the evening, but I did say 'Can I have my hat back, please?' I was greeted by jeering. They were very loud."
She said: "Ben decided he was not happy that my wig and hat had been stolen and he was going to approach the group about it."
Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, told the court that CCTV footage showed the incident unfold. He said: "As Miss Devine went to pick up a black witch's hat which had been thrown by someone unconnected into the road, Dixon booted it away. Ransom kicked and stamped on it and, in a quite provocative and contemptuous act, spat in it and threw it at her."
Then Collender "suddenly and unexpectedly" punched Mr Gardner on the left side of the face, said Mr Altman. As he recoiled from the blow, Mr Gardner was punched by Dixon and fell on to his back in the road. Mr Altman said Ransom then kicked an "utterly defenceless" Mr Gardner.
David Cameron is to meet senior ministers and officials for the third time in three weeks in an attempt to hammer out an agreement on the future shape of the Armed Forces.
The Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) in Downing Street, following the weekly meeting of the Cabinet, with time running out to complete the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).
The SDSR is due to be published on Monday or Tuesday next week - ahead of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) on Wednesday - but key decisions have still to be finalised.
The Ministry of Defence has been instructed by the Treasury to find savings of between 10% and 20% while at the same time dealing with what ministers say is a £38 billion "black hole" in the future equipment programme.
One of the key issues to be resolved is the future of the Royal Navy's two planned new aircraft carriers, being built at a cost of more than £5 billion.
Axing one or both ships could result in prohibitive cancellation fees, but retaining the carriers could mean the Navy having to accept swingeing cuts to the rest of the fleet.
Downing Street cautioned that further talks could still be needed after the NSC meeting - thought to be the last scheduled before the SDSR reports.
"I am sure there will be further meetings involving the main actors," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
A farmer was run down and killed after disturbing a burglary "with tragic consequences", detectives have said.
Police investigating the apparent hit-and-run death of Julian Gardner said they have recovered two off-road vehicles near the scene of his murder.
The "hard-working" 52-year-old was found sprawled on the ground near outbuildings at his remote farm in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, the morning after the break-in.
Police said relatives had been left devastated, while locals expressed anger at thieves for "leaving him for dead".
Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert, of Sussex Police, said: "We are treating this as a murder inquiry and believe that this was a burglary that went wrong, with tragic consequences.
"Julian Gardner possibly disturbed an unknown number of people forcing outbuildings where he ran an agricultural and car repair business."
He was found near the buildings by his business partner just after 8am on Monday. Post-mortem examinations are taking place on Tuesday afternoon and forensic examinations are ongoing.
He added: "The farm is extensive and a methodical forensic examination will take some days. I anticipate a protracted investigation, which will be intelligence-led.
"We are investigating the discovery of a couple of cars - Land Rover and Jeep - that we found abandoned a few miles from the site yesterday, but any possible connection to this incident is still being assessed. Part of our investigation will be to establish what may have been stolen from the premises."
Mr Gardner was well-known locally as an expert on repairing Land Rovers. He ran an agricultural and car repair business at Bush Barn Farm, where his 90-year-old widowed mother lives.
Proposals for universities to set their own tuition fees - making students pay thousands more for their degrees - are "not the last word" on funding, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats has said.
Simon Hughes said all Lib Dem MPs are "very conscious" of the position they took on tuition fees and of the party's policy of campaigning against fees in the last general election.
His comments came as former BP boss Lord Browne published his review of student funding in England, calling for the current £3,290 cap on fees to be lifted - with the prospect that institutions could charge as much as £12,000 a year for some courses.
The recommendation is politically explosive for the Lib Dems and the future of tuition fees is a major faultline between the party and its coalition partners, the Conservatives. A number of backbench Lib Dem MPs, including Greg Mulholland and John Leech, have already warned they will vote against any rise.
Many Lib Dem MPs signed the National Union of Students (NUS) pledge to vote against any increase in fees.
In a statement, Mr Hughes said: "All Liberal Democrat MPs are very conscious of the positions we have taken on higher education and the policies we campaigned for at the last election. We all have a duty to read and consider fully Lord Browne's proposals and the Government's response. Today will not be the last word on policy for funding higher education in England."
The current "unfair" fee system needs to be changed, Mr Hughes acknowledged, but he added: "Parliament should only support a progressive system which takes into account future earnings and makes sure that those who benefit most financially from a university education contribute the most."
The new proposals represent the most radical shake-up of the student funding system for years. Graduates would pay back loans at a much higher rate of interest, equal to the Government's cost of borrowing, which could leave them facing many years of debt.
NUS president Aaron Porter said: "The only thing students and their families would stand to gain from higher fees would be higher debts. A market in course prices between universities would increasingly put pressure on students to make decisions based on cost rather than academic ability or ambition."
Lord Browne said that, under the proposals, the bottom 20% of earners will pay less than under the current system and only the top 40% of earners would pay back close to the full amount.
Friends and colleagues have praised agony aunt and campaigner Claire Rayner as someone who showed her compassion and concern right up until the end of her life.
The writer and broadcaster - who died on Monday aged 79 - told relatives she wanted her final words to be: "Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I'll come back and bloody haunt him."
Rayner had devoted her life to caring for others - through her work as a nurse, an advice columnist and later as a campaigner for patients' rights.
She had not recovered from emergency intestinal surgery in May and knew her death was imminent over the weekend. She died in hospital near her home in Harrow, north-west London.
Her husband, Des Rayner, to whom she was married for 53 years, said: "I have lost my best friend and my soulmate. I am immensely proud of her."
Her death touched many with whom she had either worked or inspired.
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association - of which Rayner was president - said: "She was a figurehead and inspiration to us all. She cared so deeply that the voice of the patient should be heard and worked tirelessly to ensure that care issues were given prominence in all health matters. She was a wonderful person, an inspiration to us all and she will be missed so much by everyone."
Baroness Helena Kennedy said: "She was the best of company and could always be found in the middle of a laughing, adoring crowd. The key thing about Claire was that she was a campaigner to her toes - her mission was to improve the lot of others and she did it with great humility and common sense."
Rayner, also survived by children Amanda, Adam and Jay, and her four grandchildren, started her career in the National Health Service, working as a nurse.
Strikers have tried to shut down France with airports, public transport, schools and the postal service all hit in a showdown over government attempts to raise the retirement age.
Refinery workers also walked out on Tuesday, leading one union to warn of looming petrol shortages.
The battle over the contested retirement reform has gone on for months, but this week could prove decisive. With the Senate expected to pass the pension reform bill by the end of the week, some unions have upped the stakes by declaring open-ended strikes, meaning the walkouts could last for days or even weeks. Previous strikes lasted only one day.
Train drivers began their open-ended strike on Monday night, and the stoppages widened to other sectors. School pupils also were joining the fray, with walkouts expected at hundreds of schools.
More than 200 street protests were planned throughout the country. Last month, similar demonstrations brought a million people onto the streets, according to police estimates, though union organisers insisted turnout was three times higher.
The left-leaning Liberation newspaper ran a headline reading "What if the strike lasted?," while the conservative Le Figaro had a story about how strikes at French oil refineries could lead to shortages by the week's end.
Around 30% of flights were cancelled at France's busiest airport, Paris' Charles de Gaulle, while cancellations at the capital's second airport, Orly, reached 50%. Most of the affected flights were short-haul domestic flights or inter-European flights.
Workers at all six of oil giant Total's French refineries were striking, and two of them had begun preparations for total shutdowns, said a company spokesman.
The CGT union said fuel shortages were possible "in the very near future."
President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative allies insist there is no choice but to buckle down and accept the reforms which would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Faced with huge budget deficits and sluggish growth, France wants to get its finances in better order. Even with the reforms it would still have among the lowest retirement ages in the developed world.
Shocking video footage of the carnage caused by one of the July 7 2005 suicide bombers has been played at the inquests into the deaths of the 52 victims.
Forensic officers recorded evidence of the devastation caused to a Tube train when Shehzad Tanweer detonated his device a short distance from a station.
It showed how the improvised bomb ripped through the second carriage of the Circle line service travelling east from Liverpool Street to Aldgate.
Hugo Keith QC, for the inquest, said the first others knew of the blast at about 8.50am was a "muffled thud".
He said: "It is distressing in that this video shows the place where so many people tragically died. Great care has been taken and the material has been edited and re-edited to make sure you do not see any of the deceased."
Filmed at about 4pm on July 7, the silent footage showed blood and equipment left by the emergency services on the concourse and platforms at Aldgate.
The officer then descended into the tunnel and walked towards the train, which can be seen a short distance from the platform, with its rear lights lit. Standing alongside the second carriage, the set of double doors closest to the seat of the explosion has been completely ripped off and the floor is strewn with debris.
The ceiling is charred and partially collapsed, handrails lie on the floor amid personal possessions including bags, drinks bottles and a newspaper. Large pools of blood can be seen on several seat cushions and on the floor, mingled with ash and other material.
A diagram showing where Tanweer was standing when he detonated his rucksack bomb, the positions of those who died, including one man who was blown clear of the train, were shown to the inquest.
Mr Keith said the quick-witted Aldgate train driver, Timothy Batkin, used his mobile phone to alert his line controller "within minutes" when his radio failed. The inquest heard the driver then evacuated his passengers, enlisting the help of four London Underground employees to form a "human chain" back to the platform.
A Royal Marine who was killed in southern Afghanistan in July and is understood to have been a member of the special forces has been named.
Corporal Seth Stephens is believed to have been a member of the Special Boat Service (SBS) - the naval equivalent of the SAS.
Cpl Stephens, a married father, was killed on July 1. Details of his death have not been released.
Colleagues paid tribute to his "can do" attitude as a marine and his "absolute dedication" as a family man.
A spokesman for the Royal Marines said: "Cpl Seth Stephens was a truly popular man.
"He was blessed with the innate ability to brighten the darkest room; he also possessed a disarming sense of humour.
"Measured and thoughtful, his strength came from a depth of experience and knowledge that he was keen to share with others.
"Armed with a positive 'can do' approach to every task, he was a trusted friend and colleague.
"A team member he most certainly was, but it was as an individual that his true colours were best displayed.
"Never one to follow the well trodden path, he was confident in his own abilities and was always looking for new challenges."
The Government will press ahead with controversial plans to privatise the Royal Mail, risking a political row and an industrial dispute with postal workers.
Business Secretary Vince Cable will publish a Postal Service Bill, stressing that at least 10% of the shares in Royal Mail will go to its employees.
The Government will say it plans the largest employee shares scheme of any privatisation for 25 years in terms of the number of workers who will benefit - second only to the privatisation of British Telecom in 1984.
But the move will be fiercely opposed by the Communication Workers Union, which last year successfully fought plans by the Labour Government to part-privatise the postal service.
The annual TUC conference supported an emergency motion from the CWU last month which warned that hundreds of post offices will close and the universal postal service will end if the business is sold off.
CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said the Royal Mail was being "set up to fail".
He attacked the previous Labour government for the "disastrous" way it introduced competition into the postal industry, which he said had allowed competitors to take 60% of the Royal Mail's profitable business.
Mr Ward said the threat of competition and the Royal Mail's £8 billion pensions deficit could be tackled without privatisation.
The universal service, under which letters are delivered anywhere in the UK for the same price, would end if the Royal Mail were broken up, the union has warned.
The CWU will be targeting scorers of key marginal parliamentary seats held by Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs as part of its campaign.
A blackmailing police officer preyed on vulnerable women he met on duty, gave them drugs and raped them, a court has heard.
Pc Stephen Mitchell, 42, made advances towards heroin addicts, a disabled teenager and a middle-aged shop-lifter in an interview suite at Pilgrim Street Police Station, in Newcastle city centre, a jury was told.
The officer, from Glasgow, denies five counts of rape, six indecent assaults and 15 counts of misconduct in a public office, said to have occurred between 1999 and 2006. The charges relate to 16 complainants Mitchell met in the line of duty, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Paul Sloan QC, prosecuting, said Mitchell repeatedly raped a heroin addict who asked him to help her get back her children from care. The woman, now in her 30s and from North Tyneside, said he gave her heroin when he picked her up in his car and even gave her money to buy foil and a lighter from a shop so she could take it. Mr Sloan said the officer then told her: "I have done you a favour, I want you to do one for me." He then forced her to commit a sex act on him, the court heard.
Days later he threatened to plant heroin in her home if she did not get into his car, Mr Sloan said, where she performed another sex act. The next day the defendant drove her to a dirt track, Mr Sloan said. "This time, in addition to the threat to plant drugs, the defendant was telling her that if she did not do as he said he would ensure that her children were taken away from her for good," Mr Sloan said. "This time he raped her." He forced himself on her on several more occasions, the court heard.
He promised he would help her get her children back, though she never did. He also gave her more drugs, it was alleged.
After she was arrested for failing to attend a court hearing, she was granted bail and Mitchell drove her home. On the way he parked and made her perform sex acts on him, the court heard.
"He then told her he was going to have sex with her and that this would be the last time," Mr Sloan said. "(He said) 'It will be over soon and I will let you go'. He proceeded to rape her, covering her mouth when she screamed."
The officer, who joined up in 1998, told one heroin addict in custody that "he could make things messy for her", the court heard. He then visited her home in Newcastle repeatedly and had unprotected sex with her.
The case was adjourned until Wednesday.
A suspected child trafficking ring forcing Romanian children to commit crime on British streets has been smashed by police.
Officers said they had secured the safety of 28 children thanks to a series of dawn raids at 16 addresses in east London.
Gang leaders are suspected of smuggling children from Romania and using them as slaves.
There were 103 children and 52 adults present at homes in Ilford searched under Operation Norman, Scotland Yard said.
One three-year-old boy was taken to hospital with bruising and facial injuries.
The safeguarded children, aged between three and 17 and all from the Romanian Roma community, will now be assessed by multi-agency experts in child protection.
Three adults were arrested on suspicion of assault and neglect of a child.
Four further adults were arrested on warrant and benefit fraud offences.
The operation was part of a joint British and Romanian investigation.
Chief Inspector Colin Carswell, of Operation Golf, which led the raids, said: "The aim of today's operation was to safeguard and identify victims, safeguard and identify any new victims not previously identified, secure evidence, arrest suspects, and minimise any community impact that might occur."
A bid by a Tory MP to exempt pubs and private members' clubs from the smoking ban has been defeated.
David Nuttall attempted to introduce a Bill in the Commons that would give pub landlords the right to choose whether or not to allow people to smoke on their premises.
He said smoking would only be permitted in a separate room fitted with air extraction equipment and dining rooms would have to remain smoke-free.
But the motion to introduce the Public Houses and Private Members' Clubs (Smoking) Bill was defeated by 141 votes to 86, meaning a majority of 55.
Mr Nuttall, who describes himself as a "devout non-smoker", told the Commons: "I believe in trusting the people. This does mean giving individuals the power and the responsibility to take decisions for themselves. Pub landlords are the right people to decide whether allowing a smoking room is the best thing to do for their establishment, so would no doubt choose to take advantage of the freedom that this Bill would give them."
He said that in his Bury constituency, a number of pubs had closed since the smoking ban was introduced in 2007 and many of the remaining pubs were "struggling to survive".
"This Bill puts into practice the principle of localism," he added. "It transfers power from the state to the citizen, from politicians to people."
But Labour's Kevin Barron opposed the Bill and said Mr Nuttall's argument had already been considered by the House when the legislation was debated in 2006.
He said smoking was a "life-threatening habit", adding: "You will never avoid the effect on workers of this type of legislation."
Alex Deane, director of civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: "It is a great pity that basic freedom of choice was defeated today. Plenty of people don't want to have others smoking around them, and that's fair enough. But for those who still wish to smoke, the ban should be amended to allow grown adults to choose how they want to behave."
Another huge jobs cull by banking giant Lloyds has cast a cloud over a fall in the UK's unemployment total, dealing a "devastating blow" to finance workers.
The part-nationalised bank was criticised by unions for announcing plans to axe 4,500 jobs, taking the total number of losses to 20,000 since the start of last year.
The news came just hours after official figures showed a 20,000 fall in unemployment to 2.45 million, the lowest so far this year.
But long-term unemployment rose to its highest in 13 years, and the numbers claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased by 5,300 in September to 1.47 million, the second consecutive monthly rise, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Vicky Redwood, senior economist at Capital Economics, said the figures provide further evidence that the labour market recovery is faltering, even before public sector job cuts began, while Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said he expects a deteriorating trend to emerge.
Union leaders said the figures are the "calm before the storm" of next week's comprehensive spending review, following a grim warning from accountancy giant PwC that almost 500,000 jobs could be lost in the private sector because of the Government's spending cuts, pushing the total number of possible losses to a million.
Despite the fall in unemployment, the number of jobless women increased by 36,000 over the quarter to August to just over a million, while the number of vacancies across the economy was 30,000 down in the three months to September to 459,000.
The number of people out of work for over a year was 821,000 in the quarter to August, up by 27,000 from the previous three months, reaching the highest total since early 1997, while jobless 18 to 24-year-olds increased by 35,000 to 742,000, the worst for a year.
The number of workers in part-time jobs reached a record high of almost eight million, while self-employment also grew to a new record of almost four million.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "Another rise in employment is a step in the right direction but clearly our priority is to get the economy motoring again, reduce the deficit and make the UK an attractive place for investment to encourage growth."
The policeman shot in the face by gunman Raoul Moat has revealed that a childhood cricket injury saved his life.
Pc David Rathband, 42, was blasted at close range as he sat in his patrol car, causing him to lose the sight in both eyes.
The dedicated officer, who is determined to return to work for Northumbria Police despite his life-changing injuries, believed that banging his head as a child could have caused his skull to mend thicker than normal, allowing him to survive being peppered with gunshot.
As a 12-year-old he fell while playing cricket on a field at John Wheeldon School in Stafford and was knocked out.
He told the Evening Chronicle newspaper: "Where my head hit was exactly where I got shot.
"The fall must have allowed my head to grow an abnormal amount of bone."
He said doctors were shocked that his skull was not penetrated by the pellets, which would have killed him had they hit his brain.
The father-of-two was shot on a roundabout west of Newcastle on July 4, the day after crazed Moat shot his ex-lover Sam Stobbart and killed her new boyfriend Chris Brown.
Moat, 37, killed himself a week later following a stand-off with armed police in Rothbury, Northumberland.
Pc Rathband said he is determined to help other emergency service staff hurt in the line of duty and has started raising money for the cause. The organisation, after a recent name change, is known as Pc David Rathband's Blue Lamp Foundation.
Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock has been arrested on suspicion of indecent assault following allegations of improper behaviour towards a female constituent.
In a statement on his website, the 64-year-old Portsmouth South MP said he went voluntarily to a police station on Tuesday night and "co-operated fully" with inquiries.
He was released on police bail without charge until January 10.
A Hampshire Police spokesman said: "A man has been arrested on suspicion of indecent assault following a complaint from a woman in Portsmouth. The 64-year-old man from the Fareham area was arrested at 10am on Tuesday.
"He was questioned by police following an allegation made on Friday September 24 and has been bailed until January 10, 2011."
Mr Hancock declined to comment on the details of the case, but has previously denied any wrongdoing and insisted he only offered "help and support" to the 36-year-old woman.
Hampshire Police's involvement came as Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon was also reported to have received a complaint about the MP's behaviour.
Mr Hancock said: "I can confirm that I was questioned on Tuesday October 12 by officers of the Hampshire Police in relation to allegations made against me by one individual.
"I attended the police station voluntarily, co-operated fully and answered all questions that were asked. Normal processes now have to be followed by the police, which I entirely understand."
Nick Clegg has appealed to Liberal Democrat MPs to consider tearing up their pre-election pledge to oppose any increase in university tuition fees.
In a letter to his increasingly restive parliamentary party, the Deputy Prime Minister said he was "painfully aware" of the promise he had made during the general election.
He acknowledged that many MPs would stick to their pledge, but added: "I urge them to only come to that final conclusion after a thorough examination of all the facts available."
His missive came as a Lib Dem rebellion against an expected rise in tuition fees continued to swell.
Mr Clegg's predecessor as leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, confirmed he would vote against any rises, saying his credibility would be "shot to pieces" if he broke his pledge
The Deputy Prime Minister said no detailed decisions had been taken on Lord Browne of Madingley's recommendations, which include that the cap on tuition fees should be lifted.
But he appeared to acknowledge that a rise in fees would be an inevitable part of the final package.
"Like you, I am painfully aware of the pledge we all made to voters on tuition fees ahead of the general election," he wrote.
"Departing from that pledge will be one of the most difficult decisions of my political career.
"It means doing something that no one likes to do in politics - acknowledging that the assumptions we made at election time simply don't work out in practice."
New CCTV of the July 7 bombers calmly planning and embarking on their suicide mission has been played at the inquests into their victims' deaths.
The grainy and jerky footage shows the four men buying supplies, carrying out a reconnaissance trip to London and then setting out on their final journey.
A police expert said they appeared not to care about being caught on video and acted "completely natural" as they finished their preparations for the deadly attacks.
Scotland Yard launched a massive trawl of thousands of hours of CCTV images after the 2005 bombings on London's transport network, which left 52 innocent people dead and more than 700 injured.
Four days later a police officer with a military background spotted the bombers in footage taken on July 7. They were wearing large rucksacks and walking two-by-two through King's Cross station in central London.
Detectives narrowed down their search and found video evidence that the men had together boarded a train from Luton bound for the capital.
Clips played to the inquests showed Jermaine Lindsay, 19, arriving at Luton railway station just after 5am and fellow bombers Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, and Hasib Hussain, 18, parking alongside him two hours later.
The blurry black-and-white images, captured from a distance in a steady drizzle, then depict the four men putting on the heavy rucksacks packed with home-made explosives.
Appearing overdressed in heavy coats compared to other travellers, they walk into the station in pairs and board the 7.25am service to King's Cross Thameslink.
Arriving in the capital, they transfer to the Underground, following close behind a little girl in a pink coat hand-in-hand with her mother.
