East London Bombing: Countdown to Blast

5.45pm: A man notices a black Reebok sports bag containing what appears to be an explosive device at the junction of Hanbury Street and Brick Lane, just yards from the London Jamme Masjid mosque. He carries the bag to a police station. Finding it shut he returns to his car, a Ford Sierra, puts the bomb in the boot and goes to call the police.

5.57pm: The bomb explodes, blowing the Sierra into the air and leaving it a wreck of twisted metal. A Volvo estate parked next to it is set ablaze, Cafe Naz catches fire, windows are blown out and several people are knocked to the ground by shrapnel.

6.05pm: Firefighters arrive and police cordon off the area.

6.15pm: Six people are admitted to the Royal London Hospital with minor injuries.

7.30pm: Tony Blair, in Washington for Nato's 50th anniversary,condemns the attack as "outrageous".

8pm: Someone claiming to be from the neo-Nazi group Combat 18 claims responsibility for the blast in a 999 phone call.

9pm: Police say they are linking the bombing with the Brixton explosion.