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U.K. agencies let off the hook over blasts

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Britain's intelligence and security agencies cannot be blamed for the July 7 London bombings which claimed 52 lives and left hundreds injured, a high-level parliamentary committee has said.

In a report, which will be given to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Commons' cross-party committee on intelligence and security ruled out intelligence failure but criticised the "secretive and complicated'' system of determining the threat perception.

It called for a review of the system to make it simpler so that the public could be better informed.

In the aftermath of the bombings, intelligence agencies were severely criticised for lowering the threat level weeks before the attacks but the committee held that this may have made no difference to the terrorists' plans.

There is sharp criticism of counter-terror agencies for not investigating more thoroughly the activities of Siddique Khan, believed to have been the "lead bomber'', even though he had been known to the police.

The committee is reported to have noted that counter-terrorism officials were aware of Khan but did not suspect him of being a key player.

He ended up as one of the four suicide bombers who blew themselves up in London on July 7, 2005 triggering a series of explosions on trains and one bus.

The committee, which interviewed police and intelligence officials at length, has also expressed dissatisfaction with the level of intelligence on British militants operating in Pakistan. It acknowledges the difficulty in obtaining information on the activities of such elements but points out that it should still have been better.

Critics called the report a "white-wash'' and demanded greater scrutiny of the security establishment.

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