Families angered by decision on July 7 inquest

London : Relatives of the 52 people who died in the July 7 London suicide bombings expressed dismay on Thursday that their inquests will be heard at the same time as the four men who killed them.

The families discovered, at a preliminary meeting in London with the coroner, Lady Justice Hallett, that the final moments of the victims' lives will be played out at the same hearing next year as the four Islamist terrorists who blew themselves up in Britain's first suicide attack.

Graham Foulkes, whose son David, 22, was killed in the attacks, said he was "shocked and dismayed" at the plan.

Foulkes, whose son was killed in the Edgware Road tube explosion, said: "She told us that the inquest will have to include the four bombers because it was the same event. I'm absolutely gutted. I hadn't anticipated that at all and it came as a real shock. It doesn't feel right that we should be in the same room at the same time, or even part of the same process. It was quite upsetting and disturbing."

The families are also still unclear after Thursday's meeting with the coroner whether the hearing would be held in public or in secret. Counter-terrorism legislation, passed earlier this month, gives the justice secretary, powers to intervene and ensure a coroner sits in secret and without a jury in some cases where the government considers there are issues of national security.

Jack Straw, the justice secretary, has said the government wants the option of a secret inquest when evidence obtained by intelligence gathering is likely to play a prominent role in the inquest.

Should evidence of what the security services knew about the bombers be introduced to the inquest the government could utilise the legislation to have the inquest in secret.

The inquests are likely to be held in 2010.

They were opened immediately after the suicide attacks on three London tube trains and a bus, but adjourned until the end of criminal cases linked to the bombings.

Requests from families for a public inquiry have been denied many times but they hold out hope that the many questions they still have about their relatives' deaths will be answered at the inquest.

Grahame Russell, whose son Philip died in the Tavistock Square bus bomb, said he was not surprised at the decision.

"That doesn't mean I'm not disappointed. I'm aggrieved that the inquest on my son is being shared with the man who murdered him. That hurts and it feels tough that we've got to go through that."

— Guardian News & Media Ltd