| British Prime Minister Tony Blair, center, speaks during a group photo of G8 and other leaders at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland |
A visibly shaken British Prime Minister Tony Blair, surrounded by the leaders of 12 other nations attending the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, read a statement in their name describing the attacks as barbaric.
"Those responsible have no respect for human life," he said. "We are united in our resolve to confront and defeat this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation but on all nations and on civilized people everywhere. Here at this summit, the world's leaders are striving to combat world poverty and save and improve human life. The perpetrators of today's attacks are intent on destroying human life. The terrorists shall not succeed."
European countries from Spain to Poland either put their security forces on alert or boosted security on transportation networks and at airports. The European Union's Justice and Security Commissioner, Franco Frattini, said the bombers had attacked not just Britain but all of Europe.
President Bush told reporters at the G-8 summit that he instructed U.S. security officials to be extra vigilant and take necessary precautions in response to the apparently coordinated attacks in London.
"The war on terror goes on," said Mr. Bush. "I was most impressed by the resolve of all the leaders in the room. Their resolve is as strong as my resolve. And that is, we will not yield to these people, will not yield to the terrorists."
Russian President Vladimir Putin exhorted what he called "civilized countries" to unite in the struggle against terrorism. And German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said governments must use all available means to fight terrorism together.
Pope Benedict XVI described the attacks as barbarous acts against humanity.
London mayor Ken Livingstone, speaking in Singapore the day after his city was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games, accused the perpetrators of the blasts of attempting to carry out mass murder.
"It was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful," he said. "It was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers. It was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. And nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our cities, where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another."
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, whose city lost the bid to host the Olympics to Mr. Livingstone's London, said after the attacks "right now, we are all Londoners."
