Paralympian 7/7 survivor Martine Wright: It’s as vivid today as it was 15 years ago

Paralympian Martine Wright said today that she is still haunted by the 7/7 terror attacks, 15 years after losing her legs in the atrocity.

Ms Wright, 47, was on a Circle Line Tube carriage at Aldgate when a bomb went off in a co-ordinated attack which killed 52 people on the transport network on July 7, 2005.

Ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary, she said: “I wake up in the morning and it’s 8.50am and I think, ‘Wow, this is when it happened’. The memories from that day are still as vivid as they were then.”

Ms Wright lost 80 per cent of her blood in the blast and survived only because a rescuer spotted one of her new white trainers amid the wreckage. She was the last person to be brought out alive.

She went on to compete at the London 2012 Paralympic games in sitting volleyball and was awarded an MBE.

She lives with her husband Nick, 46, son Oscar, 10, and labrador Daisy in Tring, Hertfordshire.

“I can’t believe it’s 15 years ago but then I look at my wheelchair and slightly shorter legs," she said. "This me, this is Oscar’s mum. I’ve been this person forever it seems.

“Out of millions that travel on London transport, it happened to me and I was the most injured survivor.”

She said she felt lucky to be alive, explaining: “There’s no way I would be here without Team Me — my family, friends and our brilliant NHS workers. I think about all the people involved that day — the exclusive 7/7 club. You would never want to be a member of this club but the strength you get from belonging cannot be quantified.”

Ms Wright is a motivational speaker and works with families affected by terrorism. Before the pandemic, she was mentoring amputees at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton, where she herself spent nine months rehabilitating. During the Covid crisis she has been picking up food and prescriptions for neighbours, joking she is “meals on wheels”.

Following last month’s attacks in Reading, when three men were stabbed to death by a suspected terrorist who came to the UK from Libya in 2012, she said there hadn’t been enough done to eradicate terrorism since 7/7, adding: “Fifteen years on, disappointing isn’t the word.

"The number of suspects counter-terrorism police are dealing with is frightening, absolutely huge and the threat is changing every day.

“We need to find the solution in society whether it’s education or communication, getting rid of that mistrust that has built up.”

Survivors of the 7/7 terror attack will come together for an online memorial tomorrow.

Prince Charles, Boris Johnson, Sadiq Khan and Met commissioner Cressida Dick are among those who have contributed to the 30-minute film, produced by bereaved family members and survivors.

It features many of the elements that would have taken place at the 7/7 Memorial in Hyde Park, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.

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