Decennium 7/7: The United Kingdom Terrorist Attacks on July 7, 2005, and the Evolution of Anti-Terrorism Policies, Laws, and Practices

Abstract

The tenth anniversary (the Decennium) of the 7 July 2005, London transport bombings provides a poignant but appropriate juncture at which to reflect upon the lessons learned from those coordinated and severe terrorist attacks. The killing of 52 civilians by four ‘home-grown’ extremists, who had been inspired by the violent ideology of Al Qa’ida, marked the worst terrorist atrocity in the United Kingdom since the Lockerbie air disaster of 1988. The seminal importance of 7/7 resides in both the nature of the attack and the official response, both marking a transition to a new, but not wholly distinct, stage of United Kingdom terrorism and counter-terrorism.

Keywords: Terrorism, counter-terrorism laws, counter-terrorism practices

JEL Classification: K10, K14, K33, K19, K30, K33, K42, N40