According to a survey by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), 25 per cent of directors think the system is safer compared with 75 per cent who think it is less safe or there has been no change (38 per cent and 36 per cent respectively).

Two-thirds of firms believe that another terror attack on London is inevitable, though this is down on the 84 per cent figure recorded in the immediate aftermath of 7/7.

Some 15 per cent of company directors surveyed by the LCCI said they had permanently changed their travel habits as a result of the bombings last July.

The results come from a major report released to coincide with the anniversary of 7/7 by the LCCI. The report calls for the creation of a US-style Department of Homeland Security to take over responsibility for counter terrorism and civil contingencies planning from the Home Office and the Cabinet Office.

Other findings include:

• Some 81 per cent of company directors believe that the introduction of body scanners would make the transport safer
  
• Other security measures supported by London firms were: the reintroduction of bus conductors (70 per cent) the deployment of armed undercover officers on tubes and trains (67 per cent) and more extensive use of stop and search (55 per cent)
  
• London firms may be less prepared to respond to a major incident in the capital than previously. The proportion of firms with contingency plans in place has fallen from 46 per cent to 41 per cent since September 2005
  
• Smaller firms and retailers were particularly ill-prepared. Only 29 per cent of firms with fewer than 20 staff and 21 per cent of retailers had a contingency plan

In view of the enormous publicity that has been given to the importance of contingency planning for businesses of all sizes, it is extremely disappointing that more do not have plans in place, said LCCI president Michael Cassidy. If there is another attack, perhaps on a larger scale, there will be an economic price to pay for this complacency. We believe that the Government should now think seriously about offering financial incentives, such as tax breaks, to encourage companies to plan for the worst.

A single Government department responsible for counter-terrorism and civil contingencies is urgently needed. From the business perspective the current chain of command is too complicated, with the Home Office, the DTI and the Cabinet Office sharing the relevant responsibilities. One area where we have made some progress in the last 12 months is with the introduction of scanners at stations. When we first made this call in the immediate aftermath of 7/7 people said it was totally impractical. But the trial scheme on the Heathrow Express at Paddington has been a great success and we would like to see this rolled-out to other busy stations as soon as possible. Very often, when a security need exists the technology to meet it can evolve incredibly quickly.

There is one other painless win which we are disappointed hasnt yet been implemented. Police officers, who get free travel to and from work, should be told to do so in their uniforms. At a stroke, this would serve not just to remind Londoners of the threat but also reassure them at the same time.
[Most of the measures so far implemented add up to security theatre, not effective security measures. They are mostly a waste of time and money. The terrorist threat is a political necessity as a tool of population control and there is no reason to believe in the existence of any political will to effectively diminish it, e.g. by chucking those population groups likely to engage in these types of activities out of the country. For as long as the US, UK and Israel, for example, engage in widespread state terrorism, ranging from local to global in scope, it is no wonder that those they terrorise see them as legitimate targets for retaliation... --Ed].

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