London Stock Exchange bombing
| London Stock Exchange bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Troubles | |
 The Stock Exchange Tower in 1983 | |
| Location | Stock Exchange Tower, London, United Kingdom |
| Date | 20 July 1990 08:49 (UTC) |
| Target | London Stock Exchange |
Attack type | Bomb |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Perpetrator | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
The London Stock Exchange bombing occurred on the morning of 20 July 1990 with the explosion of a 5 to 10 lb (2.3 to 4.5 kg) bomb of high explosives inside the London Stock Exchange building in the City of London, England, planted by the Provisional IRA. The building and surroundings were evacuated after the IRA gave a telephone warning 40 minutes prior to the explosion, and thus nobody was wounded. But the bomb's strength blew a 10-foot hole inside the Stock Exchange Tower, and caused massive damage to the visitors' gallery on the first floor. The bomb was placed in the men's toilets behind the gallery.[1] The gallery and public viewing area was forced to close in 1992.
Background
[edit]The bombing came on the eighth anniversary of the 1982 Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings which killed eleven people. The IRA launched a renewed campaign in London in 1990. During May, a soldier at an army recruiting centre was killed by a bomb in Wembley, whilst five were injured in a similar explosion in Eltham. In June 1990 bombs at the Honourable Artillery Company and the Carlton Club injured 19 and 20 people respectively.[2]
The London Stock Exchange was the scene of a previous Provisional IRA bomb attack. On the 24 August 1973 a letter bomb was sent to the building causing injuries to two people.[3] This was also the start of a IRA letter bomb campaign in England.[4]
Investigation and aftermath
[edit]Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist chief George Churchill-Coleman said eight phone calls from the same man with an Irish accent were made between 8:02 am and 8:20 am to the City of London Police, the London Fire Brigade, Reuters, the Financial Times, the Salvation Army and the Stock Exchange itself.[5]
The Stock Exchange's chairman however said after the attack "If the purpose of this callous act was to bring the City to a halt, they have failed singularly." The explosion had little impact on stock trading since that was being carried out by computers elsewhere.[6] In 1992, the IRA bombed the Baltic Exchange building in the City.[7]
See also
[edit]- Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1990–1991)
- Baltic Exchange bombing
- Bishopsgate bombing
References
[edit]- ^ "1990: IRA bombs Stock Exchange". 20 July 1990 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Times, Sheila Rule and Special To the New York (21 July 1990). "London Stock Exchange Is Rocked by a Bombing". The New York Times.
- ^ Shuster, Alvin. "2 IN LONDON HURT BY A LETTER BOMB;High Stock Exchange Aide Injured—Scotland Yard Officially Blames I.R.A." NY Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ McGladdery, Gary (1 February 2006). The Provisional IRA in England: The Bombing Campaign 1973-1997. Irish Academic Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0716533733. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ Frankel, Glenn (21 July 1990). "POLICE BLAME IRA FOR LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE BOMB" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ FINEMAN, MARK (21 July 1990). "Bomb Blast Rips London's Stock Exchange; No Injuries Reported : Terrorism: Apparent IRA warning allows time to evacuate the building and surrounding area" – via LA Times.
- ^ Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity. Irish Academic Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7165-2895-1.
- 1990 in London
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- Terrorist incidents in London in the 1990s
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