Inquests for 7/7 victims and killers to be on same day

The father of one of the 52 victims of the 7 July bombings has criticised the "insensitivity" of holding the inquests at the same time as those of the ­bombers.

Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David died in the Edgware Road Tube attack, said the announcement came as a "real blow" and had left families "absolutely devastated".

He was speaking after Lady Justice Hallett, a Court of Appeal judge, met the families to explain she will hold a pre-inquest hearing early next year. The full inquests are expected to follow in the autumn.

Yesterday she told the families she had no choice but to hold the inquests of the four bombers at the same time as those of the victims, Mr Foulkes said.

"I hadn't anticipated that and it came as a real blow," he added."The temperature dropped in the room. There was just shock and people were very close to tears.

"Just the insensitivity of having the murderers and the victims all being dealt with in the same process and the families mixing together... we had a lot of questions for her."

Mr Foulkes, of Oldham, went on: "It'll be over five years [since the attacks] which brings its own pain. But I really do feel let down again. We're the victims but we seem to get the rough end of the stick every time."

He said the situation was made worse by the fact the victims' families were told they would not be able to receive legal aid to help pay for representation during the inquest, which he expects to last four or five months.

Mr Foulkes said the scope of the inquests had not yet been established, but called for them to examine the work of the security services in the run-up to the bombings, saying they "clearly got it wrong" after it emerged MI5 had been watching Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the bombers.

The inquests were opened after the suicide attacks on three Tube trains and a bus in 2005, but adjourned until the end of criminal cases linked to the bombings.

Victims' families have complained about delays in holding the inquests and raised fears about the possibility of secret hearings.

An MOJ spokesman said: "As a result of changes brought in by this Government, legal aid can now be granted in cases such as inquests where it is not normally available, but only where there are exceptional circumstances.

"There are published grounds that help determine whether a case is exceptional.

"Applications for exceptional funding must be made to the Legal Services Commission (LSC). Where the LSC considers that the exceptional criteria are met the application will be passed to the Ministry of Justice.

"The Legal Services Commission's Special Cases Unit will be coordinating any applications for funding in relation to the 7/7 inquests.

"The Ministry of Justice has yet to receive any legal aid applications concerning the 7/7 inquests."