Sounds more like a drink-drive hiker to me. If the police look carefully they'll probably find on the back seat a pair of walking boots, a thermos flask containing lukewarm coffee and a half-eaten bar of Kendal Mint Cake.

Gavin Smith, London,

"Al Thingy kills and maims loads of young fun seeking Londoners. Grown-ups flock to mosques to sign up for Islam. "

I don't think so. Other than sow the seeds of their own destruction, what could they possibly achieve?

Quijote, Marbella,

Everyone is quick to blame Islamic nuts, but as with the Oklahoma City bombing here in USA it doesn't hurt to wait and see. The best part is that if it turns out not to be a Muslim all the talk of religion and ethnicity just goes away. No idea of course but I would suspect drunken angry bar patron. I am Irish so we like to always think everything bad is the work of a drunk.

Tom, Boston, USA

Your expert omits the most lethal ingredient: tolerance

philip, London,

I know the internet is full of this kind of information, but is it really necessary for the Times to contribute to the dissemination of 'how to make a bomb' type information? Just because others do it, doesn't mean you shouldn't show some restraint and common sense.

Alison, London,

It is still too early in the story and there are not enough details released. I read a lot of "It could have been...." statements in this story. Noone with first hand knowledge. One point made is that propane cylinders are made to be extremely resilient. So far there has been no confirmation of a timer, trigger, or initiating charge. If there was no device to aerosolize the petrol there will be no huge fireball or shockwave, merely a flammable liquid. Let's all keep our heads this may still be nothing more than somebody being stupid.

Chip Vokey RN, Dallas, United States/ Texas

The two men who defused the bomb deserve our praise and appropriate commendations.

Mike Beckett, Acharavi, Corfu, Greece

It may be highly opportune for an early part time (normal working hours only) implementation of the Mayor's planned pedestriansation with busses and taxis, emergency vehicles and police allowed access within the central London area.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see this both common sense and 'best practice' where already implemented.

Nicholas Xenakis, The Borough, London, England

If the gas tanks were to be opened with high explosive why was petrol found? I suggest that it was an amateur job (note the erratic driving into bins) and that the explosion was to be caused by igniting the petrol and thus overheating the tanks.

William Garrett, Harrow,

Nobody has said Muslim terrorists are professional.

murph, Blackheath, UK

We should all exercise a healthy scepticism regarding the story of the car-bomb just found in London.

There are powerful reasons for this.

The grant of an appeal to the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. There is powerful evidence that key evidence in his trial was tampered with or manufactured by the CIA. The U.S. wanted this matter off its plate, the families of the dead being a constant irritation. And who better to pin it on than the then much-disliked Libyans?

Actually, nothing is easier to fake than an amateur device like this. It takes little sophistication, and there is low risk of discovery.

The CIA has just released papers it terms the 'family jewels' which concern many dark matters from decades ago. While these papers are carefully selected to make the CIA look more ineffectual than it is and to give it a public-relations boost in light of its activities today, they still document a perfect willingness to engage in the most unethical behavior.

Mr. Brown has just taken office, and expectations are high that he will distance himself from Blair's foreign policy, a policy many thoughtful people regard as foolish, destructive, and rather servile.

In the United States, paranoid games have been regularly - such as terror alerts and ridiculous arrests -played concerning threats to keep fears fired up.

John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada

this article seems to speculate a lot on the basis of very little... why does our media jump into these games? why not be cool and collective as we Brits are supposed to be?
other experts have noted how the nails on the floor would have just been nailed to the ground and how the fireball would have not done much, even if the apparently clumsy device had managed to explode.

Peter Dixon, london, uk

Ye i think you would say that...

matthew, London, UK

Yes, you're right: it could be the work of some disgruntled footballer. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

ahem, NYC, USA

I don't think anybody is professional when it comes to setting off car bombs.

Still, you can be a professional in Chemistry and creating bombs but its a whole different field when you have to use bombs.

Callum Scott, Oxford, UK

Who knows: A suicide bomber on drugs driving erratically and crashing into litter bins? A narrow escape from an act of madness? Or is it thanks to LORD? HE putting some rattling litter bins into a young man's way to "paradise" .
Hopefully this guy listened to what LORD said. Maybe those who ran away came to a conclusion on their own: Not to kill innocent people.Since HE stopped Abraham from sacrifying his son in HIS name everyone knows that HE does not require innocent human beings to be sacrified in worshipping HIM. Right? If so - Those who ran away before committing a devastating crime may live in peace on and on.

Dirk R Bode, Hamburg, Germany,

A car being apparently driven erraticaly and then crashing into bins at 2 am near some night clubs doesn't strike me as the work of a professional.

Let's wait until the police investigate before we jump to conclusions.

Adam Khan, Londo, UK