7/7 memorial: Boris Johnson vows London will 'never give in' to terrorists after columns defaced with graffiti hours before anniversary service

 
Clean up: an operation is underway to remove the graffiti before a memorial service
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Boris Johnson today vowed that London will “never give in” to terrorists who seek to divide its people — hours after vandals carried out a graffiti attack on the 7/7 memorial in Hyde Park.

It was defaced with red and black slogans before survivors and families of victims gathered to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the attacks.

The stainless steel columns — one for each of the 52 people killed — were daubed with stencilled messages saying “4 Innocent Muslims”, “Blair Lied Thousands Died” and “J7 Truth”.

An 18ft bronze statue of Achilles, another memorial in the park, was also defaced with “MI5 did 7/7”.

Detectives were today examining images from CCTV cameras near the site and appealed for witnesses.

John Falding, whose partner Anat Rosenberg, a 39-year-old charity worker, was killed in the Tavistock Square bus bomb, condemned the vandalism. “It is quite shocking, whoever did it was aiming for publicity and to cause maximum grief,” he said.

He said he would not be attending the event today but would be observing the anniversary in “quiet” with candles in memory of his partner.

The Mayor said he was “saddened” by the vandalism but “pleased that the graffiti has been removed so quickly and that today’s commemoration ceremony can go ahead as planned”.

He said: “The focus today should be and indeed will be on honouring the 52 innocent people who died on 7/7, the survivors and all those affected by the terrible events of nine years ago.”

Vandalised: black and red messages were found scrawled on the memorial

He added: “We will never forget you and this city will never give in to those who would try to divide us.”

David Cameron "unreservedly" condemns the attack on the memorial, Downing Street said.

The Prime Minister has sent a floral tribute to be laid at it to mark the anniversary, his spokesman added.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the 7/7 attacks had revealed the strength of London in overcoming threats “by standing together and carrying on with our lives”. Opposition leader Ed Miliband said: “It is a testament to London that despite these attacks, the terrorists were unable to destroy London’s incredible spirit.”

The graffiti was removed after it was discovered this morning by the park’s manager. The Met said it was informed shortly before 3.30am.

Mick Ellis, London Fire Brigade Deputy Assistant Commissioner, who was on duty during 7/7, said the vandalism showed “a level of contempt for the people and families that were involved in the events of July 7”.

Survivor Jacqui Putnam, 63, who was in the Tube carriage next to ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan when he detonated a device between Edgware Road and Paddington, said: “I find it very distressing. It will hurt all the families of the victims.” Graffiti was scrawled on the memorial in 2009 two weeks after its dedication ceremony.

Anybody with information that could assist the investigation is urged to call 101.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in