The London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has confirmed 6 blasts.
At times like this it is difficult to separate rumour from fact. The Guardian Unlimited front page and BBC are doing a good job of assimilating news wires and eye witness reports but they are clearly experiencing heavy traffic so may not be easy to access. Neil over on the Guardian Newsblog is doing great work as back stop, updating a post with news as it comes in. That might be an easier page to access than the main front page as more and more people hit the net in search of news.
I do not want to contribute to misinformation but can report what is going on in the Observer. The newsroom is relatively near Russell Square and Kings Cross, sites of two of the reported incidents and obviously reporters are out there and elsewhere trying to pick up what actually has happened. Heavy phone traffic on all of the mobile networks - mostly people checking on each other I imagine - is making contact more difficult.
There is a taut atmosphere - a mood of extreme alertness I recognise from reporting emergencies in the past, as journalists who are used to being detached from 'a story' strain to focus on news judgement and the necessary mechanics of reporting an event that will clearly also have a massive emotional impact.
We will have a news conference shortly to talk about how the paper should respond.
Tony Blair is to make a televised statement at 12:00.
Updated 12:20: Downing Street site is putting government statements online quite quickly. Charles Clarke's statement from earlier this morning is already up, PM's to follow.
