1992 London Bridge bombing

On Friday 28 February 1992, the Provisional IRA (IRA) exploded a bomb inside London Bridge station during the morning rush hour, causing extensive damage and wounding 29 people.[1] A day later, a device exploded at the Crown Prosecution Service in London, injuring a further two people.

London Bridge station bombing
Part of the Troubles
Inside London Bridge station
LocationLondon, England
Date28 February 1992
8:30 am GMT (UTC)
Attack type
Time bomb
Deaths0
Injured29
PerpetratorsProvisional Irish Republican Army (London ASU)

The attacks were carried out by one of the IRA's London active service units who were becoming more active and frequently targeting more train stations. It occurred just over a year after a bomb at Victoria station.[2]

Bombing

Around 8:20 am, someone rang Ulster Television's London office warning that a bomb was going to explode in a London station, without saying which one. About ten minutes later, the bomb detonated, which made debris fly almost fifty feet away from the blast area.[3] Twenty nine people were hurt in the explosion, most of them from flying glass and other bits of debris; four were seriously hurt but nobody was killed.

The victims were treated at Guy's Hospital.[4]

Aftermath

The head of Scotland Yard's anti terrorist squad, George Churchill-Coleman, said the two lb bomb of high explosives was "clearly designed to kill." Investigations suggested that the bomb was placed in the men's restrooms. Churchill-Coleman added that the IRA's warning was "deliberately vague" and was given too late to act upon.[5]

Prime Minister John Major said the bombing would not change British policy in Northern Ireland. "It was pointless. It was cowardly. It was directed against innocent people and it will make absolutely no difference to our policy -- no difference at all."[6] Home Secretary Kenneth Baker said it was a "callous attack".[7]

Fearing additional IRA attacks on public transport, the security services warned commuters "more than ever" to stay on guard at all times.[8] The next day, another bomb went off in London, by the Crown Prosecution Service office, injuring two more people and bringing the total injured to 31 in the space of just over 24 hours.[9]

This was one of dozens of bombs that detonated in London that year, the biggest of which was the Baltic Exchange bombing, killing three people and causing almost £1 billion worth of damage.[10] The IRA maintained this pressure, bombing mainland Britain and especially the city of London as much as possible until the ceasefire of 1994.[11][12][13]

See also

Sources

References
  1. Melaugh, Dr Martin. "Chronology of the Conflict 1992". CAIN.
  2. "Terrorist Incidents". Hansard. 4 March 1996.
  3. Associated Press (29 February 1992). "IRA Bomb Injures 28 in Busy London Railway Station". LA Times.
  4. "Bombing in London leaves 28 injured". The New York Times. 29 February 1992.
  5. "London Bridge IRA bomb · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
  6. Schmidt, William E. (29 February 1992). "Bombing in London Leaves 28 Injured" – via NYTimes.com.
  7. "London Bridge IRA bomb · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
  8. "IRA bomb at London Bridge · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
  9. "Terrorist Incidents (Hansard, 4 March 1996)". api.parliament.uk.
  10. Sutton, Malcolm (10 April 1992). "Sutton Index of Deaths". CAIN.
  11. Melaugh, Dr Martin. "Chronology of the Conflict 1992". CAIN.
  12. Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1993". CAIN.
  13. Melaugh, Dr Martin. "Chronology of the Conflict 1994". CAIN.

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