British Calm Provokes Incredulity

In his first address to the House of Commons since Thursday's attacks, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made it clear that Britain is made of stern stuff,and would not be brought to its knees by this act of terror which has so far claimed 52 lives.

"We express our revulsion at this murderous carnage of the innocent. We sent our deep and abiding sympathy and prayers to the victims and their families. We are united in our determination that our country will not be defeated by such terror but will defeat it and emerge from this horror with our values, our way of life, our tolerance and respect for others, undiminished," Blair said.

He praised the "stoicism, reslilience and sheer undaunted spirit" of Londoners, who he said had responded to the attacks with "a defiance and strength that are universally admired." But the Spaniards, who were the victims of a similar attack in Madrid at the beginning of last year, have also expressed a sense of incredulity at the speed at which Londoners seem to be putting the events behind them.

Spanish daily El Pais told its readers "In continental Europe, and especially in the south, cathartic ceremonies are needed to stave off panic. London buries its dead as it always has, simulating relative indifference and displaying normality," the paper said.

"Democratic responsibility"

But Londoners are neither strangers to bomb attacks, nor do they share the outwardly expressive Spanish temperament. In its editorial, El Mundo daily, said that "in the midst of commotion and anguish for the cruel blow received, the response has been one of civic maturity and democratic responsibility."

There has also been criticism in the Spanish press at the length of time it is taking the British authorities to identify the dead. While most of the 190 people killed in the Madrid bombings had been identified within three days of the attacks, there are still a number of relatives in Britain desperate to know the truth about their missing loved ones.

But in his parliamentary address, Tony Blair stressed the difficulties involved in the process. "The police are proceeding here with some caution. In previous terrorist attacks of a similar kind in other countries, mistakes have been made which are incredibly distressing," he said. "I wish it could be quicker but I think the only wise course is to follow precisely the advice of the coroner and police and that is what we will do."

Strategic planning

As London does what it can to continue its return to normality, the EU justice and interior ministers are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to boost an EU-wide action plan to continue the fight against terror.

Although the talks are not expected to yield any new initiatives, it is widely expected that Britain, which took over the rotating EU presidency on July 1, will put pressure on the union to approve plans to strengthen protection of key infrastructure targets such as transport and energy networks.

Britain is also calling for introducing a regulations to oblige telecommunications companies to retain for one year records detailing customers' call and e-mail correspondents and the Internet sites they visit. But the plan has drawn widespread criticism from companies, complaining about the implied costs, and from civil liberties groups, who claim it would violate the right to privacy.

British Home Secretary Charles Clarke also wants EU ministers to pass an "evidence warrant" which would facilitate the inter-European exchange of evidence to be used in court cases.