Some July 7 bomb victims survived for up to 45 minutes

The family of one victim of bomber Jermaine Lindsay, 19, have discovered she survived for 45 minutes after the explosion when they had believed she died instantly.

Details emerged at a pre-inquest hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.

Seventeen of the 52 innocent people killed in the 2005 London bombings died later, a document submitted to the hearing revealed.

A lawyer representing four bereaved families said the inquests should investigate whether the emergency services could have saved more lives.

Gareth Patterson said Behnaz Mozakka's family is "entitled" to an inquiry into why she apparently failed to receive "timely treatment", he said.

He said: "For five years they believed that she died instantly. For the first time they have discovered that their wife and mother remained alive for 35 to 45 minutes after the explosions...

"They want to know what happened to her in the crucial minutes after the explosion."

The coroner, Lady Justice Hallett, is holding a three-day legal hearing to decide what form the inquests – expected to start in October – should take.

Christopher Coltart, representing seven of the bereaved families, said the inquests should be a wide-ranging investigation of whether the atrocities could have been avoided.

He said: "In the 15-month period or so leading up to the bombings in July 2005, MI5 and the police were between them in possession of a significant amount of information about the bombers, two of them in particular, Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer.

"If, we submit, appropriate, available and proportionate action had been taken at an earlier stage, it may have been possible that the events of July 7 could have been avoided."

MI5 argues that the material involved is so sensitive that it would be "contrary to the public interest" for it to be aired openly.