London’s July 7 memorial defaced

Middle East envoy Tony Blair pauses during an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem November 7, 2012. President Barack Obama's election victory opens the way for renewed efforts to revive moribund peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Blair said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)

Middle East envoy Tony Blair pauses during an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem November 7, 2012. President Barack Obama's election victory opens the way for renewed efforts to revive moribund peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Blair said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)

Published Jul 7, 2014

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London - Vandals defaced a memorial to the victims of the July 7, 2005, London bombings on Monday, on the ninth anniversary of the attack that left 52 people dead.

The stainless steel columns in Hyde Park were daubed with messages referencing former prime minister Tony Blair, who took Britain into the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the four suicide bombers.

The slogans, including “Blair Lied Thousands Died”, “4 Innocent Muslims” and “J7 Truth”, were stencilled on to the 3.5m columns in red and black paint, according to footage shot by a local television channel.

Police were called at about 3.30am (02h30 GMT) and staff from the Royal Parks service swiftly moved to clean the pillars ahead of a memorial service planned later in the morning.

“We found it this morning. It has now been removed and the memorial can go ahead as planned. Obviously, we are very disappointed,” a spokeswoman for the Royal Parks said.

The Metropolitan Police said it had launched an investigation into the graffiti, which is being treated as criminal damage.

The memorial consists of 52 columns, one for each victim, grouped to reflect the four bombing sites - a packed bus and three London Underground subway trains.

The al-Qaeda-inspired attack, Britain's first suicide bombing, was carried out by four British Islamists. - AFP

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