Manchester IRA bomb suspect is released

A MAN arrested over the IRA’s bombing of Manchester city centre in 1996 has been released without charge.

Police held the suspect at Birmingham airport on Thursday night as he entered Britain. He was interviewed by detectives from the North West counter-terror policing unit and released on Friday night.

It is thought to be the first time the suspect had travelled to Britain for several years.

The 3,300lb bomb in a parked lorry injured 212 people as it caused £1bn of damage in June 1996. The IRA phoned warnings 90 minutes before the blast and 75,000 people were evacuated.

In 2006 police said it was unlikely anyone would be tried for planting the bomb because of a lack of evidence. The inquiry reopened in 2016 and last year police said a review of evidence had produced ‘new, albeit limited, investigative opportunities’.

In June the MoS revealed that a victim of the bombing, Barry Laycock, is suing former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams over his alleged role in the blast.

Mr Adams says he was never a member of the IRA and vigorously denies the claim.