UK SYMPATHIES: Hundreds of mourners gathered at the Spanish embassy in London yesterday to pay their respects.
With the Spanish flag flying at half-mast, the ambassador led a five-minute silence in honour of Madrid's dead and 1,400 injured.
Bright bunches of flowers lay at the door of the building in Belgrave Square, central London, and several candles had been lit.
Most bowed their head throughout the silence, some wiping tears away from reddened eyes.
People passed around stickers of the Spanish flag with a black ribbon superimposed on top. Others held signs, decrying Basque separatist group Eta and Islamic militants al-Qaeda.
When the silence ended, the ambassador Marquis of Tamaron circulated among the bereaved, offering words of condolence.
Ms Marie Jose Ballester, who works for the tourism department in the embassy in London, but is from Alicante said: "I can't believe that something like this would happen. It is only when something like this happens that you realise how wonderful all the British people have been to us - we have been inundated with condolences.
"We have been getting support from people from all sorts of backgrounds - including Arab countries."
When asked how she felt about deputy prime minister Mr John Prescott going to Madrid on Britain's behalf, the 39-year-old, replied: "Tony Blair would have been a better representative of the country."