Giuliani heckled at 9/11 hearing

RELATIVES of World Trade Center victims angrily heckled former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani yesterday.

Their hopes that he would be grilled by the commission probing the September 11 attacks faded in the face of gentle questioning and effusive praise from panel members.

“My son was murdered because of your incompetence,” shouted Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son died in the attacks.

She jabbed her finger at the former mayor and waved a sign that read “Fiction” as he gave the city's emergency response a glowing review.

Mr Giuliani finished his testimony and left the auditorium minutes later, leaving many relatives upset that they received few answers.

The acrimonious hearing brought together the former mayor and activists who have become a voice of dissent over his administration's emergency planning.

Their complaints have been supported by a growing mass of critical findings on gaps in command, control and communications among New York’s agencies in charge of emergencies.

During the hearing, Mr Giuliani said that warnings of a possible terrorist attack contained in an August 2001 White House briefing paper never reached City Hall, but would probably not have changed local security precautions.

He acknowledged there were “terrible mistakes” made on September 11, but attributed them to the unprecedented circumstances.

He also told the commission that its priority should be preventing a new attack, not assigning blame.