That was all it took to send a clear message to terrorists and suicide bombers that they would never succeed in cowing the spirit of the people.

In Britain, and across Europe, people stopped everything they were doing for 120 seconds to remember and honour the innocent lives that were lost in the June 7 London bombings.

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Queen Elizabeth II stood motionless outside Buckingham Palace, and crowd filled Trafalgar Square with heads bowed in silence, a silence broken only by the tolling of Big Ben.

Photograph: Christopher Lee/Getty Images