September 14, 2001
Europe came to a standstill at 11am today as some 800 million people observed a three-minute silence to show solidarity with America after Tuesday's devastating terror attacks.
A day of mourning was declared in 43 European countries. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales, was later to join Prime Minister Tony Blair and the American ambassador at a special public service of remembrance at St Paul's Cathedral.
Earlier Mr Blair told an emergency session of the House of Commons the US terror attacks were a tragedy of 'epoch-making proportions'.
He pledged to bring to account the perpetrators of the 'hideous' atrocities who were the enemies of the civilised world.
September 13, 2001
Britons today paid their respects to the victims of the US terrorist attacks at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Thousands flocked to hear the US National Anthem played for the first time ever at the Changing of the Guard. This was followed by a two-minute silence to remember the dead.
The Duke of York represented the Queen and the US ambassador in London, William Farish, attended the ceremony. The Queen is due to return to Buckingham Palace this evening. She will attend a special memorial service in St Paul's Cathedral at noon tomorrow.
Today's ceremony was held amid news that the death toll of Britons in the attack was at least 100, and possibly in the middle hundreds. Thousands of Americans are feared to have died.
Elsewhere across the UK, Britons have been paying their respects with messages of condolence, flowers and prayers.
People living in the Scottish town of Lockerbie have sent a message of condolence to the mayors of New York and Washington DC.
Their town was devastated in 1988 when the Pan Am 103 flight exploded over it after terrorists planted a bomb on the plane.
Britons are expected to join an EU-wide three minutes' silence at 1100BST tomorrow as Parliament is recalled.
Rousing choruses such as Rule Britannia will not be performed at Saturday's traditional Last Night of the Proms concert from the Royal Albert Hall. In recognition of the events of recent days the concert will instead include more sombre music including Spirituals from Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Time and the Choral Finale from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
A minute's silence will be observed during the second half of the concert when the Royal Albert Hall links for a live broadcast with the BBC Proms in the Park in London and the Baltic Square in Gateshead.
September 12, 2001
There are barely words left to describe the events which devastated America yesterday. Today, as the aftermath shock waves reverberate around the globe, we are waking up to a changed world.
As we gaze uncomprehending and numb at the monstrous new Manhattan skyline, at the Pentagon, the very symbol of American military might, attacked and laid waste, it is easy to believe that we are watching a disaster movie.
Right now, countless paramedics, police officers, and firemen are fighting to save as many human lives as possible.
Heartbroken families are waiting for news of loved ones.
World leaders are gathering to make sense of what has gone and decide what is to come.
This is not Hollywood. This is real.
History is made in seconds. Making sense of it takes decades.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all in the USA.
Prime Minister Tony Blair today recalled Parliament amid fears that 'significant' numbers of British people are among the dead in New York. Speaking in Downing Street today he branded the US atrocities as an attack on the entire democratic world.
MPs will return to Westminster on Friday morning to debate the implications of the atrocities.
The Queen is cutting short her holiday in Balmoral to attend a special memorial service in St Paul's Cathedral on Friday. In an unprecedented move, the US National Anthem will be played during a special changing of the guard ceremony to be held at Buckingham Palace at tomorrow morning.
Parliament has been recalled on just 18 occasions since 1948. Among them:
- 1998 Omagh bombing
- 1995 sending troops to Bosnia
- 1990 the Gulf crisis
- 1982 the Falklands invasion
- 1973 to discuss the oil crisis
- 1961 building of the Berlin Wall
- 1956 Suez crisis
Restrictions have been placed on UK airspace with private planes banned from flying and no flights allowed over central London.
All government buildings, military bases and financial institutions have been placed on red alert.
Police across the UK are on alert. Extra police officers have been drafted in to London with "all necessary precautions" were being taken to prevent similar attacks in the UK.
British people abroad have been advised to take extra precautions over their personal safety.
Crisis talks in Downing Street this morning were interrupted by a security alert. The area was briefly evacuated but the call turned out to be a hoax.
Prime Minister Tony Blair was meeting ministers, defence and security chiefs to assess the security profile of all UK citizens.
Heathrow Airport was eerily silent this morning. There will be no transatlantic flights between the UK and the US today. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said anyone hoping to visit New York within the next week should consider their trip cancelled.
Passengers are warned to expect disruption to flights to all other destinations.
Every UK newspaper today has a full-picture front page, recognising that words can barely match the shocking images of the moment two hijacked airliners smashed into the World Trade Center in New York.
Most show the fireball created as the second aircraft ripped through the south tower, changing our world forever.
The Sun's banner headline reads: The day that changed the world, while for the Daily Mail it is simply Apocalypse and for The Independent it is Doomsday America.
This is War on America says The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and the Daily Express. The Daily Star describes the city in the aftermath as a ghost town.
Reporter David Usborne writing in The Independent describes how he, along with the rest of New York, gazed uncomprehending at the burning skyscrapers.
Many of the eye-witness accounts are accompanied by stark shots of people plummeting to their deaths or terrified office workers clinging to the outside of the building.
And most papers carry images of bewildered New Yorkers emerging from the devastation covered in dust and debris.
The other question all the papers ask is who could have carried out such an attack. Suspicion universally falls on Osama bin Laden, the exiled Saudi dissident suspected of financing Muslim terrorism. The Daily Mail calls him 'the most dangerous man in the world, hell bent on seeking revenge for US missile attacks on two of his bases in 1998'.
And thoughts turn to how the US will respond with the Daily Mail urging: 'Now for God's sake Mr Bush, keep your cool.'
Where you there?
If you have witnessed at first hand any of the tragic events of this week and feel able to write about it or if you have any comments or observations to make on this disaster and its aftermath please contact me.
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Copyright (c) 2000-2001 Sue Kelly