7/7 inquests will look at role of MI5

LONDON (Reuters) - The inquests into the deaths of 52 people in the London suicide bombings of July 2005 will examine the roles and possible failures of the police and intelligence service MI5 before the attack, a coroner ruled on Friday.

Lady Justice Hallett, said it was "not too remote" to investigate what was known in the "year or two" before the atrocities took place.

"The scope of the inquest ... will include the alleged intelligence failings and the immediate aftermath of the bombings," she said, announcing that she will resume the inquests later in the year.

"Plots of this kind are not developed overnight," she added.

Victims' families want the inquest to ask why MI5 did not follow up the bombers' ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan after he was seen meeting known terror suspects 17 months before the attacks.

MI5 has argued that investigating their role would jeopardize Britain's security by forcing the disclosure of top secret files.

Court hearings have revealed counter-terrorism officers watched, photographed and followed Khan in early 2004 during an inquiry into another group of militants planning a fertilizer bomb attack.

But MI5 concluded that diverting resources to place him under detailed investigation or surveillance was not justified.

It was disclosed only last month that West Yorkshire Police have only just discovered that they held Khan's fingerprints on file for 19 years before the attacks.

Other issues the bereaved relatives want the inquests to examine include whether the emergency services could have saved more lives.

Hallett also told the Royal Courts of Justice in London that inquests into the deaths of the four suicide bombers themselves will be held separately from those of the victims and that she will sit without a jury, the Press Association reported.

The inquests have been delayed by court cases connected to the 2005 bombings. They are expected to start in October.

(Writing by Stefano Ambrogi; Editing by Steve Addison)