The Spy Who - Listen Now: 7/7: The Inside Story

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

Aimen Dean, aka, The Spy Who Betrayed Bin Laden has just launched a new series: 7/7: The Inside Story on Wondery+. You can hear a sneak peek here. On July 7th 2005, four bombs ripped through the maze of train tunnels underneath central London, killing 52 people and injuring over 700 others.20 years on, this event marks the start of two decades where terrorism, and the perceived threat of it, would change the way in which the UK thinks about its own security, societal integration, and the way in which it conducts itself around the globe.Hosted by Thomas Small and Aimen Dean, co-hosts of the award winning podcast Conflicted, this series will form a larger part of the Conflicted universe. One of Small’s key sources for this series is Aimen Dean, his Conflicted co-host and the aforementioned spy within Al-Qaeda who had a significant part in the UK intelligence response to 7/7.You can binge all episodes of 7/7: The Inside Story exclusively and ad-free, right now on Wondery+. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or by visiting https://wondery.com/links/7-7-the-inside-story/.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'm Thomas Small. I want to tell you about a new series I've made with my old friend, Eamon Dean, who you might know as the spy who betrayed Bin Laden. I'm about to play a clip from our new series, 7-7, The Inside Story. Follow 7-7, The Inside Story on the Wandry app or wherever you get your podcasts. It's early in the morning on the 7th of July 2005, just a regular Thursday in central London. On days like this, the UK capital is a slow, lumbering beast, creaking as it wakes up, ready to receive millions of commuters pounding their way to work. So the day started normally, probably for everybody in the country. It was a summer's day, I always remember that.

But this morning, something happens that shocks London out of its summertime slumber. Something that had been fermenting for years, as a unique and radical ideology spread throughout communities across the UK. Something that the British government had feared ever since September 2001, when two planes hit the World Trade Center in New York. I started seeing the news about an incident in London and when I saw the images I thought,

okay, this could be it. This could be the attack. I rather fear the worst. On that Thursday in July, the country watches in horror as Breaking News reports four explosions on busy commuter routes across the capital. As bombs exploded across London's subway system, there were scenes reminiscent of New York on 9-11. I knew it was an explosion. Reports of an explosion outside Liverpool Street Station.

I remember everything going salmon pink. And then I heard the bang. It was a day-long fear heard the bang. The perpetrators weren't foreigners. They were British citizens. It's the UK's first ever case of homegrown Islamic terrorism. It's reasonably clear that there have been a series of terrorist attacks in London. That summer's day would become known to history simply as Seven-Seven. Welcome to Conflicted, Seven-Seven, The Inside Story.

Episode one, a Thursday in July. Binge all episodes of Seven-7, the inside story, exclusively and ad free right now on Wondry Plus. Start your free trial of Wondry Plus on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or in the Wondry app.