[Angus]

Living in London during the 70s and 80s when IRA terrorist attacks and threats of attacks were common, I am more than used to going to work every day under that sort of fear. We were body searched and our bags searched at every public building, mail boxes were sealed and rubbish bins removed from station concourses. Anyone with an Irish accent was viewed with suspicion which was ridiculous yet understandable given the climate of fear at that point in time.

On two occasions: the 1981 Chelsea Barracks bombing and the 1990 Stock Exchange bombing, I was working nearby and remember being evacuated from the area.

I lived through the anxiety and fear of the July 7th atrocities when for many hours that day I was unable to contact my son who had been travelling to Edgware Road that morning. For many months afterwards it was extremely stressful travelling into London suspiciously eyeing up anyone carrying a briefcase or rucksack! Now it is just second nature to be extra vigilant about anyone looking suspicious or unattended bags etc.

The perpetrators of terrorist threats and attacks might have changed, but it's the same old scenario, at least for those of us who live in densely populated cities where the cowardly terrorists can wreak the most havoc. You can't let such scum stop you getting on with your lives - that is precisely what they want. All the BS I've been reading in the papers and on the forums about how killing Bin Laden will spark revenge attacks is pathetic - the maniacs who use terrorism to bully and subjugate people need no provocation or motivation, they need no excuse to kill and maim innocent people, so don't let them control your life.