Street bombing after U.K. acts to ban I.R.A.

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33702, 27 November 1974, Page 1

Street bombing after U.K. acts to ban I.R.A.

(N.Z.P.A -Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, November 26. Three bombs shattered London letterboxes during the rush hour last night, injuring 20 persons in an apparent gesture of defiance by Irish guerrillas against the Government’s moves to ban the Irish Republican Army.

One of the explosions was in crowded Piccadilly Circus, but only F one person was seriously injured, said the police.

The head of the police bomb squad (Commander Robert Huntley) said the explosions were classic I.R.A. tactics to cause chaos. Yesterday’s announcement by the Home Secretary (Mr Roy Jenkins) of what he called Draconian measures against Irish guerrillas has met general support from within the Labour Party and from Conservatives. The bombs exploded within minutes of each other.

The first shattered a pillarbox in Piccadilly Circus at the height of the rush hour, hurling metal fragments over a 20ft radius and injuring passers-by. The second blast, in Kings Cross, injured three persons, and the third, in Victoria, wounded one. The police sealed off all three bomb zones, and traffic through the capital was disrupted. Postal collections in the West End were suspended. The explosions occurred less than three hours after

Mr Jenkins told the House of Commons of his plans to ban the I.R.A. in Britain. He said the measures were unprecedented in peacetime, but justified. The outlawing means that I.R.A. uniform, insignia, banner-carrying, and financing will be illegal. The empowering legislation for the new anti-terrorist measures will lay down a maximum five-year prison sentence for membership of the 1.R.A., which is already illegal in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. It will also provide powers for the explusion of Irishmen suspected of guerrilla offences, and a five-year prison sentence for anyone who tries to evade such an order.

In addition, the police will be able to detain for up to five days any person suspected of guerrilla activity. Mr Jenkins said he hoped to introduce the bill tomorrow, and it should be in the Statute Book by the weekend. “I believe the measures are fully justified to meet the clear and present danger,” Mr Jenkins told the House of Commons.

He said that he had rejected the idea of introducing identity cards in Britain. This would cost too much money and manpower. The Irish Republic would be urged to join in urgent discussion on anti-guerrilla steps, he added. In response to Conservative calls for a restoration of hanging for terrorists who take lives, Mr Jenkins agreed that Parliament should have the chance to debate the question of whether to restore capital punishment Mr Edward du Cann, possibly a contender for the Conservative Party leadership, was one of those who called for the reintroduction of capital punishment. Visit by Duke The Duke of Edinburgh has visited the injured and maimed from the Birmingham bomb blasts in the Birmingham General Hospital. He was obviously shaken after spending 15 minutes in the intensive-care unit, where the three most critically injured are recovering. One young girl is blinded; two young men have lost limbs. On his two-hour tour of the wards to see the 36 casualties, the Duke was moved when one seriously burnt youth burst into tears as he spoke to him.