1993 Bishopsgate bombing

Provisional IRA bombing in London the City of London bomb in 1993 the bombing in 1992 Baltic Exchange bombing May 2013 October 2020 1993 Bishopsgate bombing the Troubles IRA Bishopsgate.JPG Wormwood Street pictured in the aftermath of the bombing which occurred on nearby Bishopsgate Bishopsgate, London, United Kingdom 51.5156 -0.0822 type:event_region:GB-LND dms it London's primary financial district 1993 04 24 yes 10:27 a.m. GMT Truck bomb 1 44Bishopsgate bomb: Photos issued on 25th anniversary https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43878479 14 April 2023 BBC News 24 April 2018 Provisional Irish Republican Army collapsed On 24 April 1993, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb on Bishopsgate, a major thoroughfare in London's financial district, the City of London. Telephoned warnings were sent about an hour beforehand, but a news photographer was killed in the blast and 44 people were injured, with fatalities minimised due to its occurrence on a Saturday. The blast destroyed the nearby St Ethelburga's church and wrecked Liverpool Street station and the NatWest Tower.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/24/newsid_2523000/2523345.stm BBC ON THIS DAY 24 1993: IRA bomb devastates City of London BBC News 1993-04-24 2018-05-18 27 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090427102926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/24/newsid_2523000/2523345.stm live https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/bomb-disposal-hero-breaks-silence-on-anniversary-of-bishopsgate-blast-8587334.html Bomb disposal hero breaks silence on anniversary of Bishopsgate blast London Evening Standard 2013-04-25 2018-05-18 18 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180418033052/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/bomb-disposal-hero-breaks-silence-on-anniversary-of-bishopsgate-blast-8587334.html live As a result of the bombing, which happened just over a year after the bombing of the nearby Baltic Exchange, a "ring of steel" was implemented to protect the City, and many firms introduced disaster recovery plans in case of further attacks or similar disasters. 350 yesmillion (equivalent to £UK-GDP 350 1992 -1 c million in UK-GDP) was spent on repairing damage. In 1994 detectives believed they knew the identities of the IRA bombers, but lacked sufficient evidence to arrest them. Kirby Terry https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/police-know-who-planted-bishopsgate-bomb-men-seen-on-video-may-be-in-irish-republic-terry-kirby-1368139.html Police 'know who planted Bishopsgate bomb': Men seen on video may be in Irish Republic. Terry Kirby reports The Independent 5 April 1994 2018-05-18 18 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180418042109/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/police-know-who-planted-bishopsgate-bomb-men-seen-on-video-may-be-in-irish-republic-terry-kirby-1368139.html live Background Since the beginning of its campaign in the early 1970s, the IRA carried out many bomb attacks on military, political, and commercial targets in England. By bombing commercial targets, it sought to damage the British economy and cause severe disruption, which it believed would put pressure on the British government to negotiate a withdrawal from Northern Ireland.O'Day, Alan. Political Violence in Northern Ireland. Greenwood Publishing, 1997. p.20 In early 1993, the Northern Ireland peace process was at a delicate stage with attempts to broker an IRA ceasefire ongoing. Coaffee Jon Terrorism, Risk and the City: The Making of a Contemporary Urban Landscape Ashgate Publishing 2003 94 978-0-7546-3555-0 Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin and John Hume of the Social Democratic and Labour Party had been engaged in private dialogue since 1988, with a view to establishing a broad Irish nationalist coalition. Taylor Peter Peter Taylor (Journalist) Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin Bloomsbury Publishing 1997 305–306 0-7475-3818-2 British Prime Minister John Major had refused to openly enter into talks with Sinn Féin until the IRA declared a ceasefire.Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin, p. 335. The risk of an IRA attack on the City of London had increased due to the lack of progress with political talks, resulting in a warning being circulated to all police forces in Britain highlighting intelligence reports of a possible attack, as it was felt the IRA had enough personnel, equipment and funds to launch a sustained campaign in England. On 10 April 1992, the IRA detonated a truck bomb outside the Baltic Exchange on St. Mary Axe. The Baltic Exchange bombing caused £800 million worth of damage (equivalent to £UK 0.8 1992 2 c billion in UKUK y), £200 million more than the total damage caused by the 10,000 explosions that had occurred during the Troubles in Northern Ireland up to that point. De Baróid Ciarán Ballymurphy and the Irish War Pluto Press 2000 325 0-7453-1509-7Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin, p. 327. Bombing In March 1993, an Iveco tipper truck was stolen in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire and was repainted from white to dark blue. Harnden Toby Toby Harnden Bandit Country Hodder & Stoughton 1999 337–38 0-340-71736-X A 1 tonne ANFO bomb made by the IRA's South Armagh Brigade had been smuggled into England and was placed in the truck, hidden underneath a layer of tarmac. The IRA Threat to the City of London Owen Kelly http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/law/city/irathreat.htm 2007-11-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20071215105348/http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/law/city/irathreat.htm 15 December 2007 dead At about 9 am on 24 April, two volunteers from an IRA active service unit drove the truck containing the bomb onto Bishopsgate. Dillon Martin Martin Dillon 25 Years of Terror: The IRA's war against the British Bantam Books 1996 292 0-553-40773-2 They parked the truck outside 99 Bishopsgate, which was then the UK headquarters of HSBC, located by the junction with Wormwood Street and Camomile Street, and left the area in a car driven by an accomplice. A series of telephone warnings were then sent from a phonebox in Forkhill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland with the caller using a recognised IRA codeword and stating "[there's] a massive bomb... clear a wide area". Geraghty Tony The Irish War Pan Books 2003 296 0-330-49388-4 The first warnings were sent about one hour before the bomb detonated. Two police officers were already making inquiries into the truck when the warnings were received, and police began evacuating the area. 1 Dead, 40 Hurt As a Blast Rips Central London Schmidt William E. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEED7113CF936A15757C0A965958260 The New York Times 25 April 1993 2007-11-29 7 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210207105438/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/25/world/1-dead-40-hurt-as-a-blast-rips-central-london.html live thumb|left|An Iveco tipper truck, the type used to carry the bomb The bomb exploded at 10:27 am, causing extensive damage to buildings along a significant stretch of Bishopsgate. The blast raised a mushroom cloud that could be seen across much of London and gouged a 15-foot wide crater in the street. Buildings up to 500 metres away were damaged, with 1,500,000 sq ft (140,000 m2) of office space being affected and over 500 tonnes of glass broken. Coogan Tim Tim Pat Coogan The IRA HarperCollins 2000 587 0-00-653155-5 https://archive.org/details/ira00timp/page/587 Teicholz Eric Facility Design and Management Handbook McGraw-Hill Professional 2001 521 978-0-07-135394-6 The NatWest Tower — at the time the City's tallest skyscraper – was amongst the structures badly damaged, with many windows on the east side of the tower destroyed; one newspaper described it as "black gaps punched its fifty-two floors like a mouth full of bad teeth". Damage extended as far north as Liverpool Street station and south beyond Threadneedle Street. 1993: IRA bomb devastates City of London http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/24/newsid_2523000/2523345.stm BBC 24 April 1993 2007-11-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20071117011944/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/24/newsid_2523000/2523345.stm 17 November 2007 live O'Brien Brendan Brendan O'Brien (Irish journalist) The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin Syracuse Univ Pr 1999 272–273 0-8156-0319-3 https://archive.org/details/longwarirasinnfe00obri/page/272 St Ethelburga's church, seven metres away from the bomb, collapsed as a result of the explosion. Non-linear transient and quasi-static analyses of the dynamic response of buildings to blast loading Philip Esper http://user.unob.cz/manas/Ansys/vybuch/Vybuch.htm 2007-11-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20071120064946/http://user.unob.cz/manas/Ansys/vybuch/Vybuch.htm 20 November 2007 live The cost of repair was estimated at the time at £1 billion. Civilian casualties were low as it was a Saturday morning and the City was typically occupied by only a small number of residents, office workers, security guards, builders, and maintenance staff. Forty-four people were injured by the bomb and News of the World photographer Edward Henty was killed after ignoring police warnings and rushing to the scene. Bowyer Bell J. J. Bowyer Bell The Secret Army: The IRA Transaction Publishers 1997 641 1-56000-901-2 https://archive.org/details/secretarmyira00bell/page/641 Judge backs editor over Shayler case Norton-Taylor Richard https://www.theguardian.com/shayler/article/0,2763,462308,00.html The Guardian 24 March 2001 2007-11-29 London https://web.archive.org/web/20071222073831/http://www.guardian.co.uk/shayler/article/0%2C2763%2C462308%2C00.html 22 December 2007 live Greenslade Roy Roy Greenslade Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits From Propaganda Pan Books 2004 601 978-0-330-39376-8 The truck-bomb produced the explosive power of 1,200 kg of TNT.Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity. Irish Academic Press, p. 127. 978-0-7165-2895-1Jane's intelligence digest: the global early-warning service. Jane's Information Group, 2005 Reaction thumb|The damaged 99 Bishopsgate in the City of London, which lost most of its glass in the bombing The business community and media called for increased security in the City, with one leading City figure calling for "a medieval-style walled enclave to prevent terrorist attacks".Graham Stephen Cities, War, and Terrorism: Towards an Urban Geopolitics Wiley 2004 281–84 978-1-4051-1575-9 Prime Minister John Major received a telephone call from Francis McWilliams, the Lord Mayor of London, reminding him that "the City of London earned £17 billion last year for the nation as a whole. Its operating environment and future must be preserved". Major, McWilliams, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont made public statements that business would continue as normal in the City and that the Bishopsgate bombing would not achieve a lasting effect. Major later gave an account of the public stance taken by his government on the bombing: Frankly, we thought it was likely to bring the whole process to an end. And we told them repeatedly that that was the case. They assumed that if they bombed and put pressure on the British at Bishopsgate or with some other outrage or other, it would affect our negotiating position to their advantage. In that judgment they were wholly wrong. Every time they did that, they made it harder not easier for any movement to be made towards a settlement. They hardened our attitude, whereas they believed that their actions would soften it. That is a fundamental mistake the IRA have made with successive British governments throughout the last quarter of a century.Taylor Peter Brits Bloomsbury Publishing 2001 327 0-7475-5806-X https://archive.org/details/brits00pete/page/327 The IRA's reaction appeared in 29 April edition of An Phoblacht, highlighting how the bombers exploited a security loophole after "having spotted a breach in the usually tight security around the City". There was also a message from the IRA leadership, calling for "the British establishment to seize the opportunity and to take the steps needed for ending its futile and costly war in Ireland. We again emphasise that they should pursue the path of peace or resign themselves to the path of war".English Richard Richard English Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA Pan Books 2003 296 0-330-49388-4 The IRA also attempted to apply indirect pressure to the British government with a statement sent to non-United States foreign-owned businesses in the City, warning that: no one should be misled into underestimating the IRA's intention to mount future planned attacks into the political and financial heart of the British state ... In the context of present political realities, further attacks on the City of London and elsewhere are inevitable. This we feel we are bound to convey to you directly, to allow you to make fully informed decisions. The City of London Corporation's chief planning officer called for the demolition of buildings damaged in the explosion, including the NatWest Tower, seeing an opportunity to rid the City of some of the 1970s architecture and build a new state-of-the-art structure as a "symbol of defiance to the IRA".Terrorism, Risk and the City: The Making of a Contemporary Urban Landscape, p. 95. His comments were not endorsed by the Corporation themselves, who remarked that the NatWest Tower was an integral part of the City's skyline. Aftermath thumb|The City church of St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate, badly damaged in the bombing thumb|Monument to journalist Ed Henty, the only fatality in the bombing, at St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate In May 1993, the City of London Police confirmed a planned security cordon for the City which had been conceived by its commissioner Owen Kelly, and on 3 July 1993 the "ring of steel" was introduced. Most routes into the City were closed or made exit-only, and the remaining eight routes into the City had checkpoints guarded by armed police. CCTV cameras were also introduced to monitor vehicles entering the area, including two cameras at each entry point – one to read the vehicle registration plate and another to monitor the driver and passenger. Over 70 police-controlled cameras monitored the City, but to increase coverage of public areas, "Camera Watch" was launched in September 1993 to encourage co-operation on surveillance between the police, private companies and the Corporation of London. Nine months after the scheme was launched, only 12.5% of buildings had camera systems, but by 1996 well over 1,000 cameras in 376 separate systems were operational in the City. The bombing resulted in some companies changing their working practices and drawing up plans to deal with any future incidents. Documents were blown out of windows of multi-storey buildings by the force of the explosion; police destroyed all such documents found. This resulted in risk managers subsequently demanding a "clear desk" policy at the end of each working day to improve information security.Graham, Julia Kaye, David A Risk Management Approach to Business Continuity: Aligning Business Continuity with Corporate Governance Rothstein Associates Inc. 2006 135 978-1-931332-36-1 The attack also prompted British and American financial companies to prepare disaster recovery plans in case of future attacks. Putting terrorism and its aftermath into context Scanlon Joe http://www.caj.ca/mediamag/fall2001/opinion.html Canadian Association of Journalists 2001 2007-11-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20061013142202/http://www.caj.ca/mediamag/fall2001/opinion.html 13 October 2006Terror in the US: London shocked but prepared http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2001/09/12/182467/terror-in-the-us-london-shocked-but-prepared.htm Computer Weekly 12 September 2001 29 November 2007 8 March 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110308034735/http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2001/09/12/182467/Terror-in-the-US-London-shocked-but-prepared.htm live The first World Trade Center bombing in New York City in February 1993 had caused bankruptcy in 40% of the affected companies within two years of the attack, according to a report from analysts IDC. As a result of the Baltic Exchange and Bishopsgate bomb attacks, City-based companies were well-prepared to deal with the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001, with a spokesman for the Corporation of London stating: "After the IRA bombs, firms redoubled their disaster recovery plans and the City recovered remarkably quickly. It has left the City pretty well-prepared for this sort of thing now." The initial estimate of £1 billion worth of damage was later downgraded, and the total cost of reconstruction was £350 million (equivalent to £UK 350 1992 -1 c million in UKUK y). The subsequent payouts by insurance companies resulted in them suffering heavy losses causing a crisis in the industry, including the near-collapse of the Lloyd's of London market. A government-backed insurance scheme, Pool Re, was subsequently introduced in Britain, with the government acting as a "re-insurer of last resort" for losses over £75 million (equivalent to £UK 75 1992 -1 c million in UKUK y).Insurance losses capped by scheme Stevenson Rachel http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article297610.ece The Independent 8 July 2005 29 November 2007 London dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070318232415/http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article297610.ece 18 March 2007 dmy-allMurray Gerard Sinn Féin and the SDLP: From Alienation to Participation Palgrave Macmillan 2005 185 978-1-4039-6860-9 The bombing, mounted at a cost of £3,000, was the last major bombing in England during that phase of the Northern Ireland conflict.Moloney Ed A Secret History of the IRA Penguin Books 2002 411 0-14-101041-XThe reach of terrorist financing and combating it: the links between terrorism and ordinary crime Bugg Damian Damian Bugg http://www.cdpp.gov.au/Media/Speeches/20030812db.aspx Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions 12 August 2003 29 November 2007 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070829121614/http://www.cdpp.gov.au/Media/Speeches/20030812db.aspx 29 August 2007 The campaign of bombing of the UK's financial centre, described by author and journalist Ed Moloney as "possibly the [IRA's] most successful military tactic since the start of the Troubles", was suspended by the IRA to allow the political progress made by Gerry Adams and John Hume to continue. The IRA carried out smaller bomb and mortar attacks in England during the remainder of 1993 and early 1994, before declaring a "complete cessation of military operations" on 31 August 1994.25 Years of Terror: The IRA's war against the British, pp. 294–95.1994: IRA declares 'complete' ceasefire http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/31/newsid_3605000/3605348.stm BBC 31 August 1994 29 November 2007 7 March 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080307131048/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/31/newsid_3605000/3605348.stm live The ceasefire ended on 9 February 1996 when two people were killed in the IRA's bombing of London Docklands, which targeted London's secondary financial district Canary Wharf. Subsequent events In July 2000, it was announced that Punch magazine was to be prosecuted for contempt of court after publishing an article by former MI5 officer David Shayler. Shayler's article claimed MI5 could have stopped the Bishopsgate bombing, which a spokesman for Attorney General Lord Williams claimed was a breach of a 1997 court injunction preventing Shayler disclosing information on security or intelligence matters.Punch faces contempt action Norton-Taylor Richard https://www.theguardian.com/shayler/article/0,2763,347906,00.html The Guardian 28 July 2000 2007-11-29 London https://web.archive.org/web/20071222083716/http://www.guardian.co.uk/shayler/article/0%2C2763%2C347906%2C00.html 22 December 2007 live Arnheim Michael The Handbook of Human Rights Law: An Accessible Approach to the Issues and Principles Kogan Page Publishers 2004 149 978-0-7494-3498-4 In November 2000, Punch and its editor were found guilty and fined £20,000 and £5,000 respectively. Punch magazine and editor fined £25,000 for contempt of court Hodgson Jessica https://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/nov/07/pressandpublishing1 The Guardian 7 November 2000 2007-11-29 London 6 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160306054012/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/nov/07/pressandpublishing1 live In March 2001, the editor successfully appealed against his conviction and fine, with an appeal judge accusing the Attorney General of acting like a press censor and ruling that the 1997 injunction was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. Punch editor wins court case Hodgson Jessica https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/mar/23/pressandpublishing2 The Guardian 23 March 2001 2007-11-29 London 30 May 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180530035431/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/mar/23/pressandpublishing2 live In December 2002, this decision was overturned at the House of Lords, with five law lords ruling that editor James Steen's publication of Shayler's article was indeed in contempt. Law lords overturn Punch decision Byrne Ciar https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/dec/12/pressandpublishing.law The Guardian 12 December 2002 2007-11-29 London 7 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210207105448/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/dec/12/pressandpublishing.law live On 24 April 2013, a commemorative dinner was held by the Felix Fund, a charity for bomb disposal experts and their families, at the Merchant Taylors' Hall on Threadneedle Street to mark 20 years since the Bishopsgate bombing.London Evening Standard, page 37, 25 April 2013. References External links 1993 Bishopsgate Bombing | Raw Footage of IRA Bomb Attack in London's Financial Centre (1993) Category:1993 in London Category:Terrorist incidents in London in the 1990s Category:Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1993 Category:1993 building bombings Category:Car and truck bombings in 1993 Category:Building bombings in London Category:Car and truck bombings in London Category:1993 murders in the United Kingdom Category:1993 crimes in the United Kingdom Category:History of the City of London Category:Provisional IRA bombings in London Category:April 1993 in the United Kingdom