This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22625104
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| John Anthony Downey charged over 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing | John Anthony Downey charged over 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A man has been charged with the murder of four soldiers in the 1982 IRA bombing in Hyde Park, London, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. | |
| John Anthony Downey, 61, of County Donegal, Ireland has been charged with the murders of Roy John Bright, Dennis Richard Anthony Daly, Simon Andrew Tipper and Geoffrey Vernon Young. | John Anthony Downey, 61, of County Donegal, Ireland has been charged with the murders of Roy John Bright, Dennis Richard Anthony Daly, Simon Andrew Tipper and Geoffrey Vernon Young. |
| The four members of the Royal Household Cavalry were travelling to Buckingham Palace when they were killed. | The four members of the Royal Household Cavalry were travelling to Buckingham Palace when they were killed. |
| Mr Downey was arrested on Sunday. | Mr Downey was arrested on Sunday. |
| He has also been charged with intending to cause an explosion likely to endanger life and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. | |
| 'Inhuman acts' | 'Inhuman acts' |
| The bomb that Mr Downey is charged with planting was the first of two that caused carnage in London on that day. In total, 11 people died and 50 people were injured by the bombs, which exploded less than two hours apart. | The bomb that Mr Downey is charged with planting was the first of two that caused carnage in London on that day. In total, 11 people died and 50 people were injured by the bombs, which exploded less than two hours apart. |
| In the first incident, a nail bomb in a blue Austin car was detonated as members of the Household Cavalry made their way from their barracks in Knightsbridge to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. | In the first incident, a nail bomb in a blue Austin car was detonated as members of the Household Cavalry made their way from their barracks in Knightsbridge to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. |
| Four men and seven horses were killed and a number of police officers and civilians were injured. | Four men and seven horses were killed and a number of police officers and civilians were injured. |
| A second explosion in a Regent's Park bandstand killed seven Royal Green Jackets bandsmen. | A second explosion in a Regent's Park bandstand killed seven Royal Green Jackets bandsmen. |
| Sue Hemming, head of special crime and counter-terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The Metropolitan Police Service has been investigating the explosion near Hyde Park in London which occurred on 20 July 1982. | Sue Hemming, head of special crime and counter-terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The Metropolitan Police Service has been investigating the explosion near Hyde Park in London which occurred on 20 July 1982. |
| "We have reviewed the evidence gathered and authorised them to charge John Anthony Downey, 61, of County Donegal, Ireland. | "We have reviewed the evidence gathered and authorised them to charge John Anthony Downey, 61, of County Donegal, Ireland. |
| "It is alleged that Downey is responsible for the improvised explosive device contained in a car parked in South Carriage Drive, SW1, London, which resulted in the deaths of four members of the Royal Household Cavalry, Blues and Royals, as they travelled on their daily route from their barracks to Buckingham Palace." | "It is alleged that Downey is responsible for the improvised explosive device contained in a car parked in South Carriage Drive, SW1, London, which resulted in the deaths of four members of the Royal Household Cavalry, Blues and Royals, as they travelled on their daily route from their barracks to Buckingham Palace." |
| Security was stepped up in the capital after the bombings, which both the British and Irish prime ministers at the time condemned as "callous and cowardly crimes" and "inhuman acts". | Security was stepped up in the capital after the bombings, which both the British and Irish prime ministers at the time condemned as "callous and cowardly crimes" and "inhuman acts". |
| Sentence review | |
| In 1987 Northern Ireland electrician Gilbert "Danny" McNamee was charged with making the Hyde Park bomb and jailed for 25 years. | In 1987 Northern Ireland electrician Gilbert "Danny" McNamee was charged with making the Hyde Park bomb and jailed for 25 years. |
| He served 12 years before being freed under the terms of the Good Friday peace deal. | He served 12 years before being freed under the terms of the Good Friday peace deal. |
| In 1998 his conviction was quashed at the High Court, after a high-profile campaign by celebrities including Eddie Izzard. | |
| But although his conviction was "unsafe" it did not follow he was innocent of the crime, the judges said. | |
| Anyone convicted of a terrorist offence in the UK or Irish Republic before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on 15 April 1998 is entitled to apply to the Sentence Review Commission to be considered for release after serving two years in jail. | |
| Last year a coroner ruled that a survivor of the Hyde Park bomb with post-traumatic stress, ex-Army sergeant Michael Pedersen, fatally stabbed his children and then took his own life. | |
| Ben and Freya Pedersen, aged seven and six, were found next to a car on a remote bridleway in Newton Stacey, near Andover, Hampshire, in September. | |
| Mr Pedersen, 51, from Chertsey, Surrey, and a former member of the Household Cavalry, survived the bombing along with his horse Sefton. |