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'My sister was killed 20 years ago - I'm still angry'

Nelli Bird, Johnny Brew & Tony Brown
BBC News
Cardiff GP Dr Andrew Dearden recounts the devastation of the bombings which killed 52 people, including Rob Webb's sister

The brother of a woman who was killed on 7/7 says he cannot forgive those behind the bomb attacks, two decades on.

On 7 July 2005, 29-year-old Laura Webb was on her way to work in central London when she was killed - one of 52 people who died in coordinated attacks on the city that day.

More than 700 people were also injured, as suicide bombers detonated explosives on three Tube trains and a bus.

Speaking to BBC News ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attacks, Rob Webb, Laura's older brother, said 7/7 was "an attack on all of us" and something that should never be forgotten.

Family handout A young women with brown wavy hair is looking at the camera and smiling. She is wearing a blue jumperFamily handout
Laura Webb's mother told the 7/7 inquests her daughter had a "sunny nature" and "could always see the best in people"

"I remain angry," said Rob, who lives in Pentyrch near Cardiff.

"Laura was denied the opportunity of a life that me and my brother have been lucky enough to have - somebody decided to take that away from her.

"The pain never goes away - I think of her every day."

Rob Webb A man with brown hair wearing a maroon jumper and black denim jacket stands next to a woman with brown long curly hair wearing a blue shirt and cream scarf. They are smiling and stood in front of some Christmas trees with snow on the branches.Rob Webb
Rob Webb says he will light a candle and remember his sister Laura on the 20th anniversary of her death

Rob said he still recalled how the day Laura died had begun like any other, but became an "extraordinary day for all the wrong reasons".

At around 08:50 BST, three deadly explosions went off underground.

Mohammed Sadiq Khan detonated his device on a Tube train near Edgware Road, Shehzad Tawnier at Aldgate and Germaine Lindsay at Russell Square.

They were the first suicide attacks on UK soil but that would not become clear until much later.

The chaos and confusion of the initial moments saw the blasts incorrectly reported as power surges by officials and the transport system went into gridlock.

A photo of BBC News 24 TV channel at 0935 on the day of the blast. The caption says "station blast" and underneath "Reports: second incident at Edgware Rd". A large crowd can be seen outside Kings Cross overground station with traffic backed up on the opposite side of the road.
The BBC News channel reported a "station blast" at 09:35 but information was unclear for some time

At a time without breaking news alerts, Dr Andrew Dearden, then a GP in Cardiff, was completely unaware of what was happening as he attended a meeting at the British Medical Association (BMA) headquarters at Tavistock Square in London.

But at 09:50 a fourth bomb was detonated by Hasib Hussain - this time on a bus - just outside the building Dr Dearden was sat in.

The large sound was something Dr Dearden said he could never forget, but he had no idea what he would face as he ran out of the building.

"As I came down the stairs, I looked towards my right about 50 yards (45m) and saw the bus," he said.

"The back of the bus looked like someone had actually stepped on it - it had been crushed down and the roof was almost gone."

Dylan Martinez/Reuters/Pool/PA A photograph shows the scene of an explosion on a red double decker London bus on the day of the 7/7 terrorist attacks. Debris lies in the road and is strewn across the surrounding pavements and stationary trafficDylan Martinez/Reuters/Pool/PA
The number 30 bus at Tavistock Square following the explosion

"I ran across the road, and as I was running I noticed the spread of the debris, how far it had gone from the bus," said Dr Dearden.

"And then I saw a lady's purse and then I saw a dismembered limb, some distance from the bus, and it was then that I kind of realised it wasn't a normal event."

Dr Dearden remembers the lack of sound in the time that followed.

"You would kind of expect the sound of terror, fear, anxiety, yet they didn't seem to be there," he recalled.

A group of doctors, including Dr Dearden, began to assess the injured and stabilise patients.

At one point, he recalled concerns that there could be another bomb in the area, but he said "nobody moved" and the work continued.

'Six months of A&E in three hours'

Dr Dearden said treating the injured at the scene was like seeing "six months of A&E in about three hours" - overwhelming for even the most experienced of medics.

"It was partly the sheer number of people involved, it was the degree of injuries we were dealing with but also recognising that some people were injured to the extent that we wouldn't be able to help them, even if we had them in a high-tech A&E department."

By 10:21, the Metropolitan Police had confirmed "multiple explosions".

Rob was trying desperately to contact his sister Laura, who was a PA based in Paddington, but she never replied.

He travelled to London alongside family and friends to begin a frantic search.

PA A worried looking man man with brown heair wearing a blue shirt is holding a photo of a woman with curly hair who is smiling at the camera.PA
Taken the day after 7/7, Laura's other brother David holds a picture of her as the family desperately searched for information on her whereabouts

"Part of you is trying to remain optimistic, part of you is trying to be really pragmatic and part of you is reflecting - why the hell is this happening to us?" Rob recalled.

"But there was always that hope and for the first few days I don't think that was unrealistic - 20 years ago, things were very different."

It would be a whole week before they had confirmation that Laura had been killed that morning.

Metropolitan Police A blue and white London underground tube train with red doors is pictured underground. Part of the carriages are damaged in the middle of the train with a door and metal hanging out. A light and a ladder can be seen pointing into this section of the train with other equipment on the train tracks.Metropolitan Police
The wreckage of the train at Aldgate station where seven people were killed

Laura was one of six people who died at Edgware Road, alongside seven at Aldgate, 26 at Russell Square and 13 at Tavistock Square.

770 people were injured, many in life-changing ways.

"It was an attack on us all - even if you weren't directly involved, it was as much an attack on you, as it was on us," said Rob, who said he had struggled to forgive, despite his Christian upbringing.

"We are called upon to forgive and I have not been able to forgive, not just the man who killed my sister but any of the other bombers."

A man with shaved head and short beard loosk straight at the camer. He is wearing a brown shirt and is in an armchair. A piano can be seen in the background.
Rob Webb says the events of 7/7 should not be forgotten

To mark the 20th anniversary of 7/7 there will be a service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral and Rob plans to be in London with his family.

"It was, in many respects, a long time ago but in other ways, it wasn't a long time ago and we as a society are still having to deal with that particular strand of terrorism," he said.

"It is important to understand what happens and the human cost - how we as a society respond and, how we as a society hopefully can become more vigilant in the future and prevent this kind of this thing from happening."

A man with short grey hair is looking at the camera. He is wearing a blue zip jumper and behind him is a table with photos.
Dr Andrew Dearden says he is "grateful" for the good he saw as people responded to the bombings

Dr Dearden has now retired as a GP but said he still remembered the people from that day - those that he treated and those who went "above and beyond" to help.

"There were a lot of people who put themselves at risk," he said, becoming emotional as he recalled the efforts of his BMA colleagues and emergency workers.

"It's vital we remember the good and what people did in response - there was a lot of good that happened on that day which could get lost if we only remember the bad."