7/7 Memorial Vandalised

Barely two weeks after being unveiled on the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the memorial to the 7th July victims in Hyde Park has been vandalised. A small amount of writing in a black marker pen at the base of one of the monument's 52 steel stelae was discovered by staff early this morning. The graffiti, which was on a pillar that bears the inscription "Kings Cross - 08.50 - 7th July 2005", was said to be obscene in nature, and is being removed by Park staff. Police have now launched an inquiry. Such acts are unfortunately becoming something of a depressing trend in London: the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford was vandalised repeatedly when it opened early last year. Coincidentally, the Hyde Park graffiti was done on the day that the Joint Terrorism Analyst Centre approved the downgrading of Britain's terror threat level to its lowest level since before the bombings.