Incidents in Britain (1)
01 January 1991
Incidents in Britain
artdoc July=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.
Statewatch vol 3 no 3 May-June 1993