London bombing inquests open

A senior judge has opened a long-delayed investigation into the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings that killed 52 people travelling on London's transit network. It has been a long time coming for the people who lost loved one’s on that day.The delay was due to the pending the prosecution of three people accused of helping the attackers choose their targets. But they were found innocent of the charge last year, paving the way for these proceedings to begin.

7^th July 2005 began with commuters heading to work buoyed up by the announcement the day before that London had won its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. Then the unthinkable happened, 52 people were killed when four British-born muslims blew themselves up in co-ordinated attacks on three underground train lines and a bus as the morning rush hour drew to close. A further 700 people were injured.

Jane and John Taylor, lost their 24-year-old daughter in the bombings. Speaking to the BBC they expressed on their hopes for the inquest saying that the inquiry will "bring to a close a certain chapter" in their lives.

British inquests are fact-finding inquiries that take place when a person dies violently or under unusual circumstances. They can't establish civil or criminal liability, but in this case the investigation will give families of victims the chance to ask officials if more could have been done to prevent the attacks.