Security: The ban on US Air Force personnel entering London following last week's terrorist attacks has been lifted, the US embassy said yesterday.
The move followed criticism from police, politicians and tourism officials in the capital.
About 10,000 US servicemen and women based at two RAF stations in Suffolk were given the order not to go inside the M25 after Thursday's bomb blasts.
Personnel were told not to enter the city until further notice, except on official business, and their families were encouraged to do the same. But the move was roundly condemned.
London transport commissioner and US citizen Bob Kiley said the directive had been in place too long. "Maybe the instruction had some logic to it on Friday when it was given on Thursday, but inasmuch as that order is still in effect now, there's a major or a colonel or a brigadier general whose future is very much at stake as we speak. Not smart."
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair had said he was disappointed with the decision. "I am sure the American military will change it because they stand shoulder to shoulder with us," he said. "I am disappointed, but I do understand it is their decision, not mine."
A spokeswoman for the US Air Force in Europe insisted that the decision to ban servicemen and women from London was made so as not to hinder the rescue operation.