Britons mark the 10th anniversary of London bombings

Britain on Tuesday commemorated the 10th anniversary of the London suicide bombings that claimed 52 lives, starting with a wreath-laying ceremony at London's Hyde Park memorial in honour of the victims. 

Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson led the ceremony in Hyde Park at 8:50 a.m., the moment the attacks on the city's transport system on July 7, 2005 began.

The anniversary comes less than a fortnight after an attack in Tunisia highlighted the ongoing Islamist threat.

"Ten years on from the 7/7 London attacks, the threat from terrorism continues to be as real as it is deadly," Prime Minister David Cameron said.

"The murder of 30 innocent Britons whilst holidaying in Tunisia is a brutal reminder of that fact. But we will never be cowed by terrorism." 

In 2005, the first three bombs exploded on London Underground trains at Aldgate, Edgware Road and Russell Square stations. An hour later, a fourth suicide bomber blew himself up on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square near Russell Square, killing and injuring some of those who had been evacuated from the Underground.

A nationwide minute's silence was held at 11:30 a.m., the second such gesture in four days after Britain fell silent on Friday for those killed in Tunisia.

Relatives and survivors will gather at Hyde Park memorial later in the day to lay flowers and there will also be a service at St Paul's Cathedral.

Painful Memories

For many of those directly affected by the London bombings, the anniversary has brought back painful memories.

David Boyce was a 25-year-old supervisor at Russell Square station and one of the first to witness the carnage.

"There was body parts all over the place and dead bodies lying all over the train," he told AFP in an interview.

Gill Hicks boarded the Underground at King's Cross and observed etiquette unique to the Tube on July 7, 2005.

Commuters stand millimetres from other passengers without really looking at them. She didn't notice the bomber. But she knows now she was standing inches from him when he detonated his backpack on the Piccadilly Line.

"I think there's a very clear demarcation line," said Hicks, who lost both legs below the knee.

"So for me July 7, 2005, was the end of life number one, and everything I knew in life number one, and the beginning of a very fortunate position to have the gift of a second life."

Britons #WalkTogether

In a social media tribute that quickly trended on Twitter, commuters posted pictures and status updates of themselves walking to work as part of the #WalkTogether campaign to honour the victims of 7/7.