Police chief vows to catch bombers

Sir John Stevens: "We are lucky no one was killed"

The head of the Metropolitan Police says he is "very confident" that the Ealing car bombers will be caught.

Sir John Stevens, visiting the scene of the blast, repeated the police insistence that those responsible for the attack would be apprehended.

His words come a few days after Sir Ronnie Flanagan, Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, said he had "no doubt" that the bombers would be brought to justice if the public helped.

They are terrorists and show no sense of responsibility and are murderers

Sir John Stevens

Mr Stevens met local people and business owners affected by the west London blast, and inspected the damage it caused.

Police are planning to stage a reconstruction of the attack, which left 11 people injured early on Friday.

"We are indeed very lucky no one was killed," Sir John said.

"They are terrorists and show no sense of responsibility and are murderers.

"Make no mistake about it, we will catch the people responsible for this wherever they are."

Sir John inspected the crater left by the bomb

Sir John, who said the police were now on the highest alert for further attacks, was also due to visit Ealing Town Hall to meet local council officials and police officers.

Detectives say they have had a "disappointing" response from the public after releasing CCTV footage of the man suspected of planting the bomb.

Dissident republican group the Real IRA has been blamed for the attack.

Many business owners in Ealing have estimated repair bills could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Reconstruction

Police plan to stage a reconstruction of the bombing at 2030BST on Thursday, using a grey Saab saloon car similar to that used in the attack.

The bomb - which blew out windows, damaged buildings and left a crater - was in a car left on The Broadway near Ealing Broadway station.

Officers had hoped the grainy CCTV footage of a man walking away from the car containing the bomb would jog the memories of passers-by.

CCTV footage of bombing suspect has been released

Detectives said they received a number of calls but none from members of the public who were in the area when the bomb car was parked up.

Police say the man shown was wearing a dark short-sleeved shirt, dark trousers and a baseball cap with a white motif.

On Monday evening anti-terrorist officers completed their search of the immediate area around the bomb site.

The main Broadway has now re-opened to pedestrians and two shopping centres in the area have also re-opened for business.

Motorists who got parking tickets because they were unable to move their cars when police cordoned off the area have been told to write to Ealing Council.

The blast crater has been checked for gas leaks but may take some time to repair because of erosion by water.

Anyone with information about the bombing is urged to contact police on 0800 789321.