Judge throws out bid to halt Twin Towers memorial

A NEW YORK judge has thrown out a lawsuit by September 11 families trying to stop construction of the World Trade Center memorial to the 2001 terror attacks.

State Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich said designers outlined thoroughly their plans to build on the Twin Towers site.

The families sued in March, saying plans to build part of the memorial on the footprints of the towers would destroy what was left of them. They accused the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency in charge of the design, of breaking state law by not consulting properly with them during a historic preservation review process.

But the judge said the corporation’s efforts to consult others “have been exhaustive and far beyond anything required by law”.

Anthony Gardner, of the Coalition of 9/11 Families, said the group may appeal.

Meanwhile, a two-minute silence will be observed to mark the first anniversary of the July 7 London bombings, British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell announced yesterday.

She also confirmed plans for a memorial garden to be sited in Tavistock Square, where one of the suicide bombers blew up a number 30 bus.