Blair Issues Statement (Verbatim)

Prime Minister Tony Blair gave this statement from the G8 summit in Gleneagles at midday, three hours after the blasts hit London

Tony Blair flanked by leaders of the G8 nations at Gleneagles, Scotland.

"It's reasonably clear that there have been a series of terrorist attacks in london. There are obviously casualties both people who have died, people seriously injured, and our thoughts and prayers of course are with the victims and their families.

"It’s my intention to leave the G8 within the next couple of hours and go down to London and get a report face to face with the police and the emergency services and the ministers that have been dealing with this, and then to return later this evening.

"It is the will of the leaders of the G8 however, that the meeting should continue in my absence, that we should continue to discuss the issues that we were going to discuss, and reach the conclusions, which we were going to reach.

"Each of the countries round that table have some experience of the effects of terrorism and all the leaders as they will indicate a little bit later, share our complete resolution to defeat this terrorism. It is particularly barbaric that this has happened on the day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa and the long-term problems of climate change in the environment.

"Just as this is recently clear that this a terrorist attack or a series of terrorist attacks it is also reasonably clear that it is designed and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G8. There will be time to talk later about this.

"It is important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world. Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country, and in other civilised nations throughout the world. Thank you."

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