LAWYERS for families of those killed in the 7/7 bombings suggest MI5 is trying to “gag” justice by restricting the verdicts of the inquest into the attacks.

MI5’s legal team argued that by law only “brief, neutral and factual” verdicts can be recorded for the 52 people who died in the July 7, 2005, attacks on London.

But the bereaved families said the coroner should be allowed to go into much greater detail about how the deaths came about.

They do not want a “sterile” conclusion that their loved ones were unlawfully killed that fails to rule on whether the security agencies could have prevented the atrocities or whether the emergency services could have saved more lives, their lawyers said.

A spokesman said: “They want an end result which reflects the evidence over the five months of the hearings and, to the extent possible, answers their questions about their loved ones’ deaths.”

The coroner, Lady Justice Hallett, who is sitting without a jury, said she would not make a ruling on her legal powers before hearing the rest of the evidence and further submissions from the lawyers.

The bombings carried out by Mohammed Siddique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Hasib Hussain, 18, and Jermaine Lindsay, 19, were the worst single terrorist atrocity on British soil.

The hearing was adjourned until Monday, when it will hear anonymous evidence from a senior MI5 officer.