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On 29 June 2007, an unexploded car bomb was discovered near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket, London. The device was removed and detonated in a controlled explosion. The attempted attack came just two days after Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith took office, a week before the second anniversary of 7/7 and a day before a gay pride march was to take place along the same street. It is thought that it was a very crudely made device. Several reports were made to the police, including one from an ambulance crew that saw what looked like smoke in the car some time after 01:25 a.m. (UTC+1) after being called to the area for an emergency. The car was a light green metallic coloured Mercedes-Benz and there were reports of two large gas canisters (around 200 litres) and a large number of nails at 04:00 a.m. (UTC+1). A meeting of COBRA was held in central London about the incident.
Event
| Chain of Events | |
|---|---|
| 01:25 am | London Ambulance Service crew reported that they saw what looked like smoke in the car. |
| 02:00 am | Metropolitan Police officers investigate the vehicle and cordon off the area. Explosives officers examine the vehicle and disable potential explosive device. |
| 04:00 am | A witness sees the police removing gas canisters from the car. |
| 08:00 am | Piccadilly Circus Underground station is closed. |
| 10:25 am | The car removed from the Haymarket. |
| 10:30 am | COBRA meets and Piccadilly Circus Underground station is reopened |
An eyewitness claims to have seen the car shortly before 02:00 a.m. (UTC+1), being driven "erratically" and then crashing into bins, after which, the driver got out and ran off. The car has been removed and taken to a forensics lab in Kent, for further inspection. Police officers carried out a controlled explosion on what the police described as a "potentially viable explosive device". Piccadilly Circus Underground station was closed in response to the attempted attack.
Bomb
The vehicle has been reported to have contained sixty litres of petrol, gas cylinders and nails which would have evidently given the same effect as a fragmentation grenade had there been a detonation. Scotland Yard have reported that while the gas contained in the canisters and the quantity of the canisters remains unknown, they do not wish to increase speculation and that further details will be given after they have been analysed by forensic experts. They have stated that the bomb was sufficient to cause "serious injury or loss of life".
Aftermath
A spokesperson for Pride London stated that the route of the pride march, set for June 30th, would be unchanged though extra precautions like removing bins are being implemented. The police do not think the attack was targeted on the event.
References
- "Bomb Attempt: Police Briefing". Sky News. 2007-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Police find bomb in London, launch terrorism probe". 2007-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|wprl=ignored (help) - "London 'bomb' made safe by police". BBC News Online. 2007-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Car bomb scare in London". Sky News. 2007-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Sky News Pictures - London bomb scare". Sky News. 2007-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - RTÉ News - 'Suspected bomb defused in London'
- "Suspect Device found in Central London". Guardian Unlimited. 2007-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ BBC News Police avert car bomb "carnage" retrieved June 29 2007
- "Car bomb found in London". Pride London. 2007-06-29.
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