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 7th that 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: "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."