IRA Hyde Park bomb: John Anthony Downey in court
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22625104
Quote:
A man has been charged with four counts of murder over the 1982 bombing in Hyde Park which killed 11 people, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.
John Anthony Downey, 61, of County Donegal, Ireland has been charged with the murders of Roy John Bright, Dennis Richard Anthony Daly, Simon Andrew Tipper and Geoffrey Vernon Young
The four members of the Royal Household Cavalry were travelling to Buckingham Palace when they were killed.
Mr Downey was arrested on Sunday.
He has also been charged with intending to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.
He will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Sue Hemming, head of special crime and counter-terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The Metropolitan Police Service has been investigating the explosion near Hyde Park in London which occurred on 20 July 1982.
"We have reviewed the evidence gathered and authorised them to charge John Anthony Downey, 61, of County Donegal, Ireland.
"It is alleged that Downey is responsible for the improvised explosive device contained in a car parked in South Carriage Drive, SW1, London, which resulted in the deaths of four members of the Royal Household Cavalry, Blues and Royals, as they travelled on their daily route from their barracks to Buckingham Palace."
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:idc:
For those too young to remember :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Pa..._Park_bombings
Quote:
The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings occurred on 20 July 1982 in London, England. Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated two bombs during British military ceremonies in Hyde Park and Regent's Park. The explosions killed eleven military personnel: four soldiers of the Blues & Royals and seven military bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets. Seven of the Blues and Royals' horses also died in the attack. One of the seriously injured horses, Sefton, survived; afterwards he featured on many television programmes and was awarded "Horse of the Year".
The first attack was a large nail bomb hidden in a blue Austin car parked on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park, along the route used by the Household Cavalry – the Queen's official bodyguard regiment during the Changing of the Guard between Buckingham Palace and Knightsbridge. Three soldiers of the Blues and Royals were killed instantly, and another died on 23 July from his injuries. The other soldiers in the procession were all badly wounded and shrapnel and nails sprayed into the crowd of tourists assembled to watch the parade, causing further injuries.
The second explosion occurred just over two hours later, when a bomb hidden underneath the bandstand in Regent's Park exploded during a performance of the music from Oliver! by the Royal Green Jackets band to a crowd of 120 people. Here too, the crowd was peppered by shrapnel from the iron bandstand, causing dozens of injuries amongst the audience, as well as wounding the entire band and killing seven members outright. The blast was so powerful that one of the bodies was thrown onto an iron fence 30 yards away.
In 1987, Danny McNamee was sentenced to 25 years for the Hyde Park bomb despite McNamee pleading that he was innocent. In 1998, shortly after his release under the Good Friday Agreement, a judge overturned his conviction, deeming it "unsafe" because of withheld fingerprint evidence that implicated other bomb-makers.
A memorial marks the place of the Hyde Park explosion and the troop honours it daily with an eyes left and salute with drawn swords.
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There were scenes of appalling carnage ..... :eek:
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