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At about 19:01 on 9 February, the IRA detonated a half-tonne bomb containing an ammonium nitrate fertilizerand fuel-oil mixture, in a small lorry about 80 yards from South Quay Station on the Docklands Light Railway (in the Canary Wharf area of London), directly under the point where the tracks cross Marsh Wall. Due to a telephoned warning, nearby buildings and the road were evacuated. However, two men working in the newsagents shop directly opposite the explosion, Inan Bashir and John Jeffries, had not been evacuated in time and were killed. 39 people required hospital treatment due to blast injuries and falling glass. It destroyed part of the South Quay Plaza. The damaged part is still partially derelict, although a redevelopment as the World Trade Centre has been proposed.
Approximately £85 million worth of damage was done by the blast. Three nearby buildings (the Midland Bank building, South Quay Plaza I and II) were severely damaged (the latter two requiring complete rebuilding whilst the former was beyond economic repair and was demolished). The station itself was extensively damaged, but both it and the bridge under which the bomb was exploded were reopened within weeks (on 22 April), the latter requiring only cosmetic repairs despite its proximity to the blast.
This bomb represented the end to the IRA ceasefire during the Northern Ireland peace process at the time. A man named James McArdle was convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but murder charges were dropped due to concerns about press coverage. McArdle was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in June 2000.
The IRA described the injuries as a result of the bomb as "regrettable", but said that they could have been avoided if police had responded promptly to "clear and specific warnings". Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir Paul Condon said: "It would be unfair to describe this as a failure of security. It was a failure of humanity."
In Context:
James McArdle, a 29-year-old bricklayer from County Armagh was found guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions in June 1998.
He was jailed for 25 years.
Murder charges - for the deaths of the two men killed, newsagents Inam Bashir and John Jeffries - were dropped when the judge dismissed the jury because of concerns about press coverage.
Eighteen months later the IRA agreed another ceasefire.
Peace was finally negotiated with the Good Friday Agreement - accepted by voters in Ireland and Northern Ireland - in May 1998.
Under the terms of the agreement, James McArdle was released in July 2000.