Incidents in Britain
01 May 1993
The Home Office has published a list of "terrorist incidents relating to Northern Irish terrorism in Great Britain" since the introduction of the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 1974 (Hansard, 4.3.93 cols 281-288). For the years prior to 1989 the list only includes incidents which resulted in death or injury. The list includes a description of the incident (in less than ten words), and the date and location of the incident.The data show that from the passing of the PTA until the end of 1992 there were 63 deaths and 978 injuries in Britain. After an initial period of high levels of deaths and injuries, only 1 death and 18 injuries were recorded from 1977 to the end of 1980. Although the number of incidents involving deaths and injuries remained at less than five per year in the early 1980s, there were 25 deaths and 227 injuries up to and including the bombing of the Conservative Party annual conference in Brighton in October 1984. Following the latter, only two incidents are recorded until the start of 1989. The last four years have seen a rapid escalation of IRA operations in Britain as the table below shows. 37% of all deaths and 35% of all injuries since the passing of the PTA have occurred in the last four years.
Year Incidents Deaths Injuries
1989 4 11 24
1990 19 3 55
1991 23 3 40
1992 48 6 222
Total 94 23 341
According to one report (Irish Times 27.5.93), there is growing concern within the Irish community in Britain about the way the police are arresting and detaining Irish people following IRA incidents. After the Bishopsgate/NatWest Tower bombing (24th April), eleven people were detained under the PTA. All were eventually released except John Matthews, a graduate of Queen's University, Belfast, who had been working in London as a hospital porter since September of last year. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on his way back home to Derry. Matthews had been staying with his aunt in a flat in Wood Green. Shortly after his arrest, armed police broke down the door of a neighbouring flat before entering Matthews' aunt's flat at 3.00 in the morning. Matthews was questioned about several IRA operations, including the attack on Whitehall last October for which Patrick Murphy was charged even though he had been attending an Alcoholics Anonymous in Uxbridge at the time. Like Murphy, Matthews was charged after being picked out at an identification parade. Matthews took part in three such parades, none of which took account of his distinctive appearance - he is short (5 foot 2 inches) and has bright ginger hair.
Matthews' father told the Irish Times that his son had co- operated fully with the police and that many witnesses had backed up his alibi evidence covering all the incidents which the police had raised with him. Although the charges against Matthews were withdrawn in court he was immediately served with an exclusion order and taken to Northern Ireland.