Police say there is nothing to suggest a suicide bombing

Forty-nine people are confirmed dead, but Sir Ian Blair said efforts to recover bodies from the wreckage of the Russell Square Tube train continued.

Relatives and friends of scores more have been searching for loved ones who may have been caught in the attacks.

The Met Commissioner said police had an "implacable resolve" to track down those responsible for the bombings.

He also said that 13 people died in the bus blast in Tavistock Square alone.

There was "absolutely nothing" to suggest that this was the work of a suicide bomber or "to rule it out", said Sir Ian.

They will not make us change our way of life The Queen Watch the speech Tracing the bombers Hope can fight terror - Blair Queen condemns bombings

It was "blindingly obvious" that a terrorist cell was operating in Britain, he said, as the massive intelligence operation to find the perpetrators moved into gear.

The timing of the attacks meant that one person could not have carried all four attacks out, he said.

Sir Ian said the attack was entirely random, with victims coming not only from Britain but also from Sierra Leone, Australia, Portugal, Poland and China.

Politicians and police have paid tribute to the resilience of Londoners, with transport returning to a near-normal service on the Tube.

Meanwhile, the Queen sent a message of defiance to those behind the attacks, saying: "They will not change our way of life."

Speaking from the G8 summit in Gleneagles the prime minister said the purpose of terrorism was to put anger and hatred in people's hearts.

Mr Blair has asked Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell to be the Cabinet minister responsible for ensuring families of victims of the bombs are supported.

CCTV trawl

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said he had believed for some time that an attack on the city was inevitable and said the emergency operation had "worked like clockwork" because of the planning involved.

He said a book of condolences would be opened at City Hall on Monday and that a London's bombings relief fund would be set up to assist those that have suffered.

Both Mr Livingstone and Sir Ian urged people to come forward with information that may help track down the bombers. People can call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

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Ports and airports are on high alert and a huge recovery of CCTV material has started in an attempt to identify the bombers.

Anti-terrorist branch head Andy Hayman said devices with less than10 lbs (4.5kg) of high explosive had been left on the floor in the Tube trains and may have been left on the seat of the bus.

He said emergency services were finding it difficult to recover bodies from the Tube train between King's Cross and Russell Square because the tunnel was unsafe.

'Intelligence failure'

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said looking for potential bombers was like searching for "needles in haystacks".

A claim on the website of a previously unknown group, the Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in Europe, saying it was behind the blast, was now being taken seriously, he said.

The failure to predict Thursday's bombs should not obscure past successes, he said, but admitted: "It certainly was a failure of intelligence in the sense that we didn't know this was coming."

Passengers evacuate an underground train at Kings Cross (Photo: Alexander Chadwick) Enlarge Image

Prince Charles spent more than an hour, along with the Duchess of Cornwall, visiting casualties and staff at St Mary's Hospital near the Edgware Road tube blast.

Scotland Yard confirmed seven people died in the Liverpool Street explosion, another seven at Edgware Road, a further 13 in the Tavistock Square bus blast and at least 21 at the King's Cross blast. A 49th person died in hospital later.

Some people 700 were hurt, 22 of whom were serious or critical.

Anyone worried about missing relatives or friends can contact a special police hotline on 0870 156 6344.

Transport for London is trying to get services back to normal, but London Underground said the worst hit parts of the network would not be fully restored for several weeks.

Blasts occurred: Between Aldgate and Liverpool Street tube stations Between King's Cross and Russell Square tube stations At Edgware Road tube station On bus at Tavistock Square