Fingerprints link former IRA member to Hyde Park car bomb, claims barrister

THE objective of the Hyde Park bombing was the “cold-blooded killing” of British soldiers, the High Court has heard.

Relatives of the four Royal Household Cavalrymen who died in the July 1982 blast are bringing a civil action against convicted IRA member John Downey from Co Donegal.

Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright (36), Lieutenant Dennis Daly (23), Trooper Simon Tipper (19), and Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young, also 19, were killed by a car bomb as they rode through the central London park to attend the changing of the guard.

Lawyers acting for Sarah-Jane Young, L/Cpl Young’s daughter, in whose name the action is being brought, told a hearing in London that the families of those killed expect “justice” to be done.

At the start of the hearing yesterday, Lord Brennan QC said: “Thirty-seven years after, if justice can properly be done, as it can be in this case, then let it be done.”

He added: “Its (the bombing’s) objective was cold-blooded killing, with vicious brutality and maximum harm. The claimant’s case is that these devastating consequences were intended, including the murder of these four soldiers.”

The barrister said there was “clear” evidence of Downey’s involvement in the attack, including the fact that his fingerprints were found on two parking tickets used on the bomb car shortly before the explosion, adding: “That fingerprint evidence is damning against the defendant.”

Downey is not participating in the trial but has filed a written defence denying any involvement in the attack. He is currently in prison in Northern Ireland, facing a criminal prosecution for a car bomb attack which killed two UDR members in Enniskillen in 1972.

He was charged four years ago with the murders, but his prosecution at the Old Bailey collapsed in 2014 after it was revealed that he had received a written assurance from former prime minister Tony Blair’s government that he was no longer wanted. The letter was issued under the terms of the controversial On The Runs (OTRs) Scheme.

Family members of those killed launched legal action against Downey after that.

The relatives were refused legal aid five times, but it was revealed in February last year that they had been granted public funding to pursue the case.

One Hyde Park bomb survivor, Simon Utley, was just 18 years old and riding on his first guard duty with the Household Cavalry when the bomb exploded.

His voice wavered as he said: “I was riding along, it was my first guard so I was excited.

“I remember I was talking to the guy to my left, just asking aboutwhatIwouldbedoinglater on ... and then the bomb went off.

“It was a noise that I can’t describe, but it was a painful noise because it took my eardrum out.

“Then I was aware of the heat and at that point my horse just took off into Hyde Park.

“I couldn’t stop it, it just galloped off with me on it. It took me a fair way into the park before I managed to stop it.”

Mr Utley said he saw there was a hole “the size of a dustbin lid” in the left-hand side of his horse, which later had to be put down.

He said he was eventually taken back to the barracks in a minibus before being transferred to hospital, where he had an operation to treat a shrapnel wound to his side.

The High Court hearing, before Mrs Justice Yip, is to determine whether Downey is liable for the bombing.

If the judge concludes he is, a second stage of the case will consider the amount of damages to be awarded.