Patrick Ryan IRA bomb confession: Call for Met to reopen probe

Eight soldiers on ceremonial duty were killed in two IRA bomb blasts in central London in 1984 with a further 47 people injured. Seven horses were killed or so badly maimed they had to be destroyed.

BBC NI Spotlight carried an interview with Patrick Ryan this week in which he confessed to his involvement.

Asked if Margaret Thatcher had been right at the time to link him to bombs such as Hyde Park and the Brighton Tory conference bomb, he said: “Absolutely – 100%. Oh yes.” When asked if he had any regrets, he said: “Oh, I have, yes. Big regrets. Of what nature? I regret that I wasn’t even more effective.”

This prompted lawyer Matt Jury, who is representing the Hyde Park victims, to write to Met Commissioner Cressida Dick.

He was writing on behalf of Mark Tipper, whose 19-year-old brother Trooper Simon Tipper was one of those murdered.

“Our client asks for confirmation of the MET’s position as to whether it will now reopen its investigation into Ryan’s confessed crime as a precursor to seeking his extradition from Ireland to face prosecution in the UK,” Mr Jury wrote.”

He noted that “any failure by the British authorities to do so” may be a breach of his client’s right to a fair trial under the Human Rights Act 1998. “We await your urgent response.”

The letter also expressed thanks to the efforts by the MET to bring Donegal man John Downey to trial for his alleged part in the bombings. He is currently being extradited.

Mr Jury also copied in Leo Varadkar, Boris Johnson, Mary Lou McDonald and Arlene Foster.