Man arrested over 1996 Manchester bombing is released without charge
Man arrested over IRA’s 1996 Manchester bombing is released without charge
- Man arrested over IRA’s bombing in Manchester in 1996 released without charge
- Police held the suspect at Birmingham airport on Thursday as he arrived in UK
- It’s thought to be the first time he travelled to Britain for several years
- The 3,300lb bomb injured 212 people but fortunately no one was killed
By Jake Ryan For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 01:00, 11 September 2022 | Updated: 01:00, 11 September 2022
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.
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
The 3,300lb bomb in a parked lorry injured 212 people but no one died as it caused GBP1billion of damage in June 1996.
It was the largest explosive to be detonated on mainland Britain since the Second World War.
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 Mail on Sunday revealed that a victim of the bombing, former rail worker Barry Laycock, is suing former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams in the High Court over his alleged role in the blast.
Mr Laycock and two other victims are suing Mr Adams over his alleged role in directing the IRA’s mainland bombing campaign from 1973 to 1996.
It includes the 3,000lb truck bomb blast in London’s Docklands in 1996, which killed two.
Mr Adams says he was never a member of the IRA and vigorously denies all the claims.