Terrorists tried to attack London eight times between the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and last July 7, when suicide bombers killed dozens on the city’s transport system, London’s mayor said Monday.
Ken Livingstone said there had been two attempted attacks since July 7, including a failed attack on the transport network on July 21.
Livingstone did not provide details of the attempted attacks, but said those who threaten London comprise small groups of disaffected people who are fairly disorganized.
He dismissed suggestions by some government ministers and police chiefs that the city is the target of a “great organized international conspiracy.”
“Largely what you’re talking about is fairly disorganized and small groups of disaffected people,” Livingstone said in an interview on British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
“This not a great organized international conspiracy with orders flowing down the chain.”
Authorities say the July 7 bombings were carried out by three British men of Pakistani descent and a Jamaican-born convert to Islam. Fifty-six were killed, including the suspected bombers.
Sixteen people have been charged in connection with the July 21 plot to attack three subway trains and a double-decker bus, which failed when the bombs did not detonate.