1993 Bishopsgate bombing
Encyclopedia
The Bishopsgate bombing occurred on 24 April 1993, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 (IRA) detonated a truck bomb in London's
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 financial district in Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...

, City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, England. One person was killed in the explosion and 44 injured, and damage initially estimated at £1 billion was caused. As a result of the bombing the "ring of steel" was introduced to protect the City, and many firms introduced disaster recovery plans in case of further attacks.

Background

In early 1993 the Northern Ireland peace process
Northern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...

 was at a delicate stage, with attempts to broker an IRA ceasefire ongoing. Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...

 of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 and John Hume
John Hume
John Hume is a former Irish politician from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble....

 of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...

 had been engaged in private dialogue since 1988, with a view to establishing a broad nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...

 coalition. British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

 John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

 had refused to enter into political talks with Sinn Féin unless the IRA declared a ceasefire, stating "Those who use violence for political aims exclude themselves by their own actions, and if they wish to be taken into account, the choice lies entirely in their own hands". 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 sufficient personnel, equipment and funds to launch a sustained campaign in England. During the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

 the IRA had bombed financial targets in London on a number of occasions, most notably on 10 April 1992 when a truck bomb exploded outside the Baltic Exchange
Baltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts...

. The Baltic Exchange bombing caused £800 million worth of damage (the equivalent of £ million as of ), £200 million more than the total damage caused by the 10,000 explosions that had occurred during the Troubles in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 up to that point.

The bombing

In March 1993 a Ford Iveco tipper truck
Dump truck
A dump truck is a truck used for transporting loose material for construction. A typical dump truck is equipped with a hydraulically operated open-box bed hinged at the rear, the front of which can be lifted up to allow the contents to be deposited on the ground behind the truck at the site of...

 was stolen in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...

 and resprayed from white to dark blue. A one tonne fertiliser bomb made by the IRA's South Armagh Brigade had been smuggled into England, and was placed in the truck disguised underneath a layer of tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...

. At approximately 9 am on 24 April 1993, two volunteers
Volunteer (Irish republican)
Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army...

 from an IRA active service unit
Active Service Unit
An active service unit was a Provisional Irish Republican Army cell of five to eight members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002 the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were in active service units....

 drove the truck containing the bomb into Bishopsgate. They parked the truck outside the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and left the area in a car driven by an accomplice. A series of telephone warnings were then delivered from a phonebox in Forkhill
Forkhill
Forkhill or Forkill is a small village in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Ring of Gullion, near Slieve Fuad. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 366.- Name :...

, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, with the caller using a recognised IRA codeword and stating "[there's] a massive bomb… clear a wide area". Two policemen were already making inquiries into the truck when the warnings were received, and police began evacuating the area.

The bomb exploded at 10:25 am causing damage estimated at £1 billion. Buildings up to 500 metres away were damaged, with one and a half million square feet (140,000 m²) of office space being affected and over 500 tonnes of glass broken. The NatWest Tower was badly damaged with many windows on the east side of the building destroyed, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

describing the damage as "Black gaps punched its fifty-two floors like a mouth full of bad teeth". Other buildings damaged included Liverpool Street underground station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...

, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank
99 Bishopsgate
99 Bishopsgate is a skyscraper in the City of London. It is tall and has 25 office floors, with a total net letable floor space of circa . There are a further three plant floors at levels LG, 14 and 27....

 and Barclays Bank. St Ethelburga's
St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate
St Ethelburga-the-Virgin within Bishopsgate is a Church of England church in the City of London, located on Bishopsgate near Liverpool Street station.-History:...

 church was situated seven metres away from the bomb, and collapsed due to the force of the explosion. Civilian casualties were low as it was a Saturday morning, the City was only occupied by a small number of office workers, security guards, builders and maintenance staff. 44 people were injured by the bomb, and News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...

photographer Ed Henty was killed after ignoring warnings and rushing to the scene.

Reaction

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". 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
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

 Norman Lamont made public statements that business would continue as normal in the City, and that the bombing would not achieve a lasting effect. Major later described his reaction to the bombing:
John Hume and Gerry Adams issued their first joint statement on the same day as the bombing, stating "We accept that the Irish people as a whole have a right to national self-determination. This is a view shared by a majority of the people of this island, though not by all its people" and that "The exercise of self-determination is a matter for agreement between the people of Ireland".

The IRA's reaction appeared in the 29 April edition of An Phoblacht
An Phoblacht
An Phoblacht is the official newspaper of Sinn Féin in Ireland. It is published once a month, and according to its website sells an average of up to 15,000 copies every month and was the first Irish paper to provide an edition online and currently having in excess of 100,000 website hits per...

, 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". The IRA also attempted to apply indirect pressure to the British government with a statement sent to non-American 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 Corporation of London'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". 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

In May 1993 the police confirmed a planned security cordon for the City, 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 manned by armed police. CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....

 cameras were also introduced to monitor the vehicles entering the City, including two cameras at each entry point—one to read the vehicle registration plate
Vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...

 and another to monitor the driver and passenger. Over seventy police-controlled cameras monitored the City, but to increase coverage of public areas "Camera Watch" was launched in September 1993 to encourage cooperation on camera surveillance between the police, private companies and the Corporation of London. Nine months after the scheme was launched only 12½ percent 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 a number of 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, prompting the police to use a shredder
Paper shredder
A paper shredder is a mechanical device used to cut paper into chad, typically either strips or fine particles. Government organizations, businesses, and private individuals use shredders to destroy private, confidential, or otherwise sensitive documents...

 to destroy all documents found. This resulted in risk managers subsequently demanding a "clear desk" policy at the end of each working day to improve information security
Information security
Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....

. The attack also prompted British and American financial companies to prepare disaster recovery plans in case of future terrorist attacks. The World Trade Center 1993 bombings in February 1993 caused bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 in 40 percent of 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, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

 in America, 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. The subsequent payouts by insurance companies resulted in them suffering heavy losses causing a crisis in the industry, including the near-collapse of Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...

. A government backed insurance scheme, Pool Re
Pool Re
The Pool Reinsurance Company Limited, also known as Pool Re, is a mutual insurer set up by the British government with leading insurers. Pool Re has substantial reserves, and in addition HM Treasury acts as the reinsurer of last resort for Pool Re....

, was subsequently introduced in Britain, with the government acting as a "re-insurer of last resort" for losses over £75 million.

The bombing, mounted at a cost of £3,000, was the last major bombing in England during that phase of the Northern Ireland peace process. The bombing of the United Kingdoms's financial centre, described by author and journalist Ed Moloney
Ed Moloney
Ed Moloney is an Irish journalist and author best known for his coverage of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and particularly the activities of the Provisional IRA. Ed worked for the Hibernia magazine and Magill before going on to serve as Northern Ireland editor for The Irish Times and...

 as "possibly the [IRA's] most successful military tactic since the start of the Troubles", was suspended by the IRA in order to allow the progress made by Gerry Adams and John Hume to continue. The IRA carried out a number of smaller bomb attacks in England during the remainder of 1993 and early 1994, before declaring a "complete cessation of military operations" on 31 August 1994. The ceasefire ended on 9 February 1996 when the IRA killed two people in the Docklands bombing, a truck bomb attack on the Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...

 financial district of London.

Punch magazine and David Shayler

In July 2000 it was announced that Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...

magazine was to be prosecuted for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...

 after publishing an article by former MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...

 agent David Shayler
David Shayler
David Shayler is a British journalist and former MI5 officer. Shayler earned notoriety after being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act 1989 for his passing secret documents to the Mail on Sunday in August 1997 that alleged that MI5 was paranoid about socialists, and that it had previously...

. Shayler's article claimed MI5 could have stopped the Bishopsgate bombing, which a spokesman for Attorney General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...

 Lord Williams
Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn
Gareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn, PC, QC, was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician who was Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council and a member of the Cabinet at the time of his sudden death in 2003.Williams was born near Prestatyn, in North Wales, a son of...

 claimed was a breach of a 1997 court injunction preventing Shayler disclosing information on security or intelligence matters. In November 2000 Punch and its editor were found guilty, being fined £20,000 and £5,000 respectively. In March 2001 the editor successfully appealed against his conviction and fine, with a Court of Appeal judge accusing the Attorney General of acting like a press censor and ruling that the 1997 injunction was in breach of article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

. In December 2002 this decision was overturned at the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

, with five law lords ruling that editor James Steen's publication of Shayler's article was in contempt.
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