As an international center of government, finance, and commerce, London has long dealt with political protests, terrorist attacks, and other actions intended to kill individuals or destroy property to make a political statement. However on July 7, 2005, a coordinated series of suicide attacks rocked the London public transportation system, killing 56 people and injuring over 700 others.

The ferocity of the attacks, and the realization that three of the four terrorists involved had been born in the United Kingdom, shocked many and caused an examination of intelligence and security practices within the United Kingdom and worldwide. The London terrorist attacks, sometimes referred to as the 7/7 attacks, resulted in an immediate and widespread response of emergency and security forces, and had repercussions that affected the ...