US military chiefs today lifted a ban on Air Force personnel entering London amid mounting political pressure and accusations that the measure was a victory for the terrorists.

Around 10,000 US servicemen and women based at two RAF stations in Suffolk were given the "battle staff directive" not to go within the M25 soon after the bombs brought London to a standstill on Thursday.

Families of personnel were also encouraged to abide by the ban, in stark contrast to President Bush’s call for Americans to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their British counterparts.

It remained in force until noon today when the USAF overturned the order - which applied to its staff at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk - following fierce condemnation from politicians, tourist leaders, police and the American Embassy.

David Johnson, the charge d’affaires at the American Embassy in London, admitted the decision to lift the travel ban could have been taken sooner.

"I don’t think any of us expected the kind of media frenzy that took place this morning," he said. "They would have been looking at this during the course of the day anyway, but the spotlight, this focus I think probably made them look at it a little more rapidly."

Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: "It is appropriate for someone on the ground to try to weigh issues. It is also appropriate for them to go back and look at them on a recurring basis to see if those decisions are correct. That is what the air force has done today."

Asked if that could have been done sooner, he said: "Perhaps."

John Reid, the Defence Secretary, said today that the failure to overturn the ban earlier had been an "oversight". He said: "In the immediate aftermath of the bombing last week there was a bulletin issued to American servicemen saying 'Don't go into London.'

"That was perfectly understandable and lots of people were being advised the same thing. It was taken locally presumably on a temporary basis but it has never been rescinded. As I understand, it is now urgently being reviewed since this matter has been brought to people's attention.

He continued: "The Americans, from the President down, have been fully supportive and rather than taking people away from London have been more than willing to send people to London to assist us in everything we are doing."

A spokeswoman for the Greater London Authority called for people to return to London. "The mayor sent out a message when he got on the Tube today. People are getting back into London to work and visit."

Lesley Mair, from the Corporation of London, agreed: "We are urging people to try to get back into work and live as normal lives as possible. We must not let the terrorists beat us."

Bob Kiley, the London transport commissioner who is a US citizen, said that the directive had been in place too long. The former CIA agent said: "Maybe the instruction had some logic to it on Friday when it was given on Thursday, but inasmuch as that order is still in effect now, there’s a major or a colonel or a brigadier general whose future is very much at stake as we speak. Not smart."

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair earlier said he was "disappointed" at the continued ban, and the Conservative defence spokesman Andrew Robathan said the order should have been rescinded immediately.

"It sends out all the wrong messages about London being a place to visit for tourism or whatever," he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. "It sends out the message, contrary to everything we have been saying and George Bush has been saying, that the terrorists have, in fact, won to a certain extent because we are changing our plans because of them."