Tavistock Square bus bombing on 7/7 NEWS GROUP

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A MAJOR new inquiry into the 7/7 bombings has begun today - the fourth anniversary of the 2005 terror attacks.

• New 7/7 memorial opened in Hyde Park

MPs on the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee are expected to call senior intelligence officials in to the investigation to give evidence.

In its newly-published report on the Government's anti-terror strategy, the committee warned the London Underground was still "extremely vulnerable" to terrorist attack.

"Following this report we will now embark on a new inquiry into the 7/7 bombings"

The committee chairman, Labour MP Keith Vaz, said: "Following this report, we will embark on a new inquiry into the 7/7 bombings."

He said MPs would begin by looking at how Cobra, the Cabinet Office's emergency committee, responded to the attacks.

It follows criticism of the committee by former Scotland Yard Counter-Terrorism chief Andy Hayman.

He dismissed Cobra as a "nonsensical system that drags people away from the serious job in hand to attend a crisis meeting".

But Vaz said: "Hayman recently raised some questions about the work of Cobra, the committee set up to deal with national emergency situations, and we will be considering its effectiveness as the next stage of our scrutiny in this area."

Survivors of 7/7 and the relatives of victims have called for a full public inquiry in to the attacks. They want an inquiry modelled on the commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks in the US.

In its report, the committee criticises Transport for London for inadequate communications on the day of the attack.

It says the 2012 Olympics is "another critical area of vulnerability".

The report concludes: "The UK continues to face a sustained and extremely grave threat from terrorism.

"After a slow start, the Government has done a great deal to improve its counter-terrorism structures and now has an impressive approach to the issue.

"However, more work remains to be done. The threats have not lessened significantly, nor do we expect them to do so in the immediate future."