Britain was to come to a standstill for two minutes today as millions pay silent tribute to the victims of the London bombings.

Workers in the capital have been asked to leave their offices and shops and gather on the streets at noon in a show of solidarity to remember the 52 killed and hundreds injured in the four co-ordinated blasts seven days ago.

Many high street stores and supermarkets will observe the silence - which is to be marked across the European Union. Black cabs and buses will pull to the roadside, train and flight departures will be delayed. Trading at the London Stock Exchange will be halted.

In Leeds, the hometown of four of the suicide bombers, a Memorial Service for the victims, friends and families is being held at 11.45 in Millennium Square.

Ken Livingstone, the London mayor, visited the scene of the King's Cross bombing this morning carrying a large bouquet of white flowers.

He said: "London will remember all of those who died last Thursday and show its defiance of those who try to change the character of our city through terror.

"Every bus in the city will stop, businesses will stop and I want everyone who can to come out of their workplaces and homes on to the streets of London to remember those who died and to show their complete defiance of the terrorists."

The capital’s moment of reflection is being co-ordinated by the Greater London Authority in conjunction with the TUC and various religious groups.

St Botolph Parish Church, near to the scene of the Aldgate bomb, will hold a brief Act of Remembrance at noon.

The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, will lead the midday quiet in the Westminster Cathedral piazza.

Lloyd’s of London said it would ring its Lutine bell in remembrance, as it did after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001. The Lord Mayor of London will lead City silence on the steps of Royal Exchange.

Londoners have been invited to pay their respects at a garden of remembrance at Victoria Embankment Gardens.

Prayers will be offered at Canterbury Cathedral before and after the silent tribute.

The Archbishop of Westminster will lead the midday silence on the Westminster Cathedral piazza, with the Lord Mayor of Westminster.

Tony Blair is expected to mark the silence at Downing Street while Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will be at the family support centre in the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster.

A stream of well-wishers was this morning arriving In Tavistock Square, where Hasib Hussain, 18, blew up himself and 13 other passengers on the Number 13 bus.

Among the sea of flowers at the end of the street, which is metres from Euston Station, were messages of support from around the world.

The two-minute dedication will be screened on BBC1, BBC2, News 24 , Sky News and the Parliament Channel.

Later this evening, thousands of people are expected to gather at Trafalgar Square to pay their respects with readings and poems from Londoners and those in the transport and emergency services.

A tube driver, a paramedic, a bus driver, a firefighter and a senior union official will be among those addressing the crowds.

More than 500 messages from the public have already been sent online to the Greater London Authority website www.london.gov.uk in addition to the many people who have visited City Hall since to sign the official books of condolence.

Londoners passing Edgware Road Tube station were stopping to read the tributes posted outside, some of them laying bouquets.

One message from "all Londoners" states: "Dear Osama. Thank you for making me even more determined to love my neighbour. United in grief. United in disgust. United in strength."

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