"THESE seven days in London have been a seven days that no one will ever forget," said Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London.

"We saw the incredible spectacle of over quarter of million people assembled peacefully to do their bit to try and ease the poverty and the burdens that afflict the people on the other side of the planet (Live 8 concert in Hyde Park).

We had the remarkable triumph of persuading the International Olympic Committee to award London the Olympic Games... [a city where] 300 languages are spoken and the people that speak them live side by side in harmony."

Then on Thursday the City was under attack. Dozens lay dead, many more terribly injured. The transport system which carries more than 3 million passengers each day, paralyzed. Financial markets were in turmoil.

Trials ceased at the Old Bailey. Security at Buckingham Palace was stepped up. Mobile phone networks were jammed, to prevent further bombs from being set off remotely and to facilitate the calls of emergency workers.

The Underground remained largely gridlocked as night fell, but the bus service slowly creaked back to life, and an ad hoc free ferry service of small boats plied up and down the Thames.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands set off from work on foot, a mighty pedestrian crowd trudging slowing home through a shocked city.

08.51 - the first explosion in a tunnel 100 metres from Liverpool Street station, in a train from Aldgate East. Seven people confirmed dead and 90 were injured.

Passenger Sarah Reid said commuters screamed in panic as the train was plunged into darkness before the explosion. Robert Andrews, 28, was on his way to work "I saw two bodies lying on the track," he said.

"One was face down with a jacket over his head ... the doors of the train had been blown off and were on the track. The roof was a twisted mangled mess - it looked like silver foil..."

08.55 - second explosion in a tunnel between Kings Cross and Russell Square stations on the Piccadilly line. Twenty one people were confirmed dead.

Rachel McFadyen, 34, said: "I heard an almighty bang and everything went black. The carriage filled with smoke. At first I though that I was blinded, I could not see. It was so dark we used light from people's mobile phones..."

Jo Herbert said; "I was stuck in a smoke-filled, blackened tube that reeked of burning for over 30 minutes.

So many people were hysterical... I truly though I was going to die and was just hoping it would be from smoke inhalation and not fire... eventually people smashed through the windows and we were lifted out - all walked up the tunnel to the station.

There was chaos outside and I started to walk towards work and all of a sudden there was another huge bang and people started running up the road in the opposite direction to where I was walking and screaming and crying. I now realise this must have been one of the busses exploding."

The search continues for the remaining bodies amid difficult conditions with workers facing temperatures of 60C. The depth of the tunnel - around 100 ft, is also posing problems. Rats, extreme heat and dust and the risk of asbestos have all hampered the operation.

09.17 - third explosion on a train coming into Edgware Road station. It later emerged that the explosion on the train blew through a wall and hit another train on an adjoining line.

Seven people confirmed dead. Field hospitals are set up at Marks and Spencer in Edgware Road and the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Marylebone.

Yotty Toda said "Right after the explosion, thick black smoke came into our carriage - it was powdery, thick smoke. Everyone tried to cover their noses and mouths with handkerchiefs and tissue paper...I was in the second carriage so I had to go through the first in order to evacuate.

When I reached the end of the first carriage, I thought I would see the driver's compartment, but it was completely blown off... I cannot tell you how happy I was to see the sky..."

09.47 - fourth explosion on a double-decker bus packed with commuters in Russell Square which left splintered metal and body parts strewn across the road. Thirteen people are confirmed dead. Miraculously, the driver escaped with minor injuries.

One eyewitness said: "It was a massive explosion and there were papers and half a bus flying through the air". The explosion happened outside the British Medical Association and doctors rushed from the building to perform triage and emergency care to those injured.

Echoes from the past

Last Sunday, in a timely coincidence, the capital was roused by celebrations on Horse Guards Parade to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The Queen, members of the Royal family, the Prime Minister and government figures witnessed a nostalgic display of patriotism, writes Jonathan Brown in the Independent.

In a speech to the 12,000 strong crowd, the Queen paid tribute to the "resilience, humour and sustained courage" of London. According to the Police, the final death toll of around 52 is thought most likely and 39 people are still missing. Seven hundred people sustained injuries.

Joint statement

Britain's most influential religious leaders pledged to defend the country's multi-cultural society against the evil of terrorism in a show of unprecedented unity at Lambeth Palace last Sunday.

Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim leaders made the joint statement at the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi, the chairman of the council of Mosques and Imams, said: "We stand together now for a further purpose: to express our shared commitment to resisting and overcoming the evil of terrorism.

People who claimed that they carried out such atrocities in the name of Islam were acting totally contrary to Islam [sic]. It is an evil that cannot be justified..."

Crackdown on revenge attacks

The Metropolitan Police have recorded a sharp rise in hate crimes following the London attacks, including attacks on mosques, physical attacks and verbal abuse.

In the three days after the bombings, police in London recorded 180 racial incidents

Attacks have also been reported on mosques in Leeds, Bristol, Birkenhead and Gloucester, and a Sikh temple in Kent. Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Brian Paddick said that his officers would not put up with any hate crimes. He said: "We will not tolerate a small minority of people who are using these tragic events to stir up hatred..."

Bombers traced

Personal documents of four suspected bombers were found near the bomb scenes - at least one of them may have died in the strikes. The men travelled down from west Yorkshire and arrived at Kings Cross station shortly before the attacks were launched on Thursday.

Their images were captured by CCTV cameras.

Police said there was forensic evidence to indicate that the bomber responsible for the explosion at Aldgate died at the scene. One of the men from West Yorkshire had been reported missing by his family and his property was found at the scene of the bus blast.