Minister defends British security services

A British Home Office minister has said an inquiry into intelligence failings is the "last thing" the security services need …

A British Home Office minister has said an inquiry into intelligence failings is the "last thing" the security services need as they search for the London bombers.

Hazel Blears said hunting down the terrorists responsible for the atrocity should be the number one priority and nothing should distract from that.

Conservatives are calling for an inquiry into how those responsible for the Tube and bus bombs slipped past surveillance. But

Ms Blears said that all of the security services' efforts were rightly going into the “absolutely massive” operation to find the killers.

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“Every possible lead is being followed up. Everything is being done. Our top priority is to bring to justice the people who have carried out this absolutely appalling atrocity and have slaughtered innocent people,” she told GMTV.

“If you think about what is going on at the moment, the last thing the police and security services need is calls for an inquiry.

The minister also announced an "urgent" review of the 40p-a-minute charge for phoning the helpline and defended the delay in identifying the victims.

The helpline had been set up to deal with disasters and terrorist incidents because it could handle 200 incoming calls rather than just the normal 40, Ms Blears said.