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The Docklands bombing (also known as the Canary Wharf bombing or South Quay bombing) occurred on 9 February 1996. It was conducted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and brought an end to their seventeen-month ceasefire. The bomb detonated in a financial district, killing two people and causing an estimated £100 million worth of damage.

At about 19:01 on 9 February, the IRA detonated a large bomb containing 500kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser and sugar, in a small lorry about 80 yards (70 m) from South Quay Station on the Docklands Light Railway (in the Canary Wharf area of London), directly under the point where the tracks cross Marsh Wall. The detonating cord was made of semtex, PETN and RDX high explosives. Due to a telephoned warning, nearby buildings and the road were evacuated. However, two men working in the newsagents shop directly opposite the explosion, Inan Bashir and John Jeffries, had not been evacuated in time and were killed. 39 people required hospital treatment due to blast injuries and falling glass. It destroyed part of the South Quay Plaza. The explosion left a ten metres wide, three metres deep crater.

Approximately £100 million worth of damage was done by the blast. Three nearby buildings (the Midland Bank building, South Quay Plaza I and II) were severely damaged (the latter two requiring complete rebuilding whilst the former was beyond economic repair and was demolished). The station itself was extensively damaged, but both it and the bridge under which the bomb was exploded were reopened within weeks (on 22 April), the latter requiring only cosmetic repairs despite its proximity to the blast.

This bomb represented the end to the IRA ceasefire during the Northern Ireland peace process at the time. James McArdle was convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but murder charges were dropped due to concerns about press coverage. McArdle was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in June 2000.

The IRA described the deaths and injuries as a result of the bomb as "regrettable", but said that they could have been avoided if police had responded promptly to "clear and specific warnings". Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir Paul Condon said: "It would be unfair to describe this as a failure of security. It was a failure of humanity."

On 28 February, the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, John Major and John Bruton announced that all-party talks would be resumed in June. Major's decision of dropping the demand of a previous IRA decommissioning of weapons led to criticism from the press, which accused him of being "bombed to the table".

See also

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• Bishopsgate bombing
• Chronology of the Northern Ireland Troubles
• Chronology of Provisional IRA actions
• List of terrorist incidents in London

References

1. ^ Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity. Irish Academic Press, p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7165-2895-1
2. Bangash & Bangash (2006).Explosion-resistant buildings: design, analysis, and case studies. Springer, p. 10. ISBN 3-540-20618-3
3. ^ Tumposky, Ellen (1996-02-10). "Blast shatters London, Adams Presumes IRA's Responsible". Daily News (New York). NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
4. BBC ON THIS DAY 10 February, 1996: Docklands bomb ends IRA ceasefire
5. Oppenheimer, p.130

External links

• BBC Report on the bombing
• Memories of the Docklands bomb by the BBC
• IRA Bomb Shatters the Peace by the Canadian encyclopedia
• Breakdown of Provisional IRA Cease-fire by the BBC

51°30′1.27″N 0°1′4.76″W / 51.5003528°N 0.0179889°W / 51.5003528; -0.0179889

• 1996 in London
• Provisional Irish Republican Army actions in England
• Terrorism in London
• Terrorist incidents in 1996
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Car and truck bombings in the United Kingdom
• Explosions in England