A civil lawsuit initiated by three victims of IRA bomb attacks commenced in London, where they are seeking to hold Gerry Adams, the former leader of Sinn Féin, personally responsible for the incidents that occurred in Great Britain during the conflict known as The Troubles.
The proceedings began on Monday at the Royal Courts of Justice, where the plaintiffs are urging the court to find Adams accountable for his alleged decisions to orchestrate the placement of car bombs in London and Manchester in 1973 and 1996.
They are filing the suit for nominal damages of £1, explaining that the litigation is primarily aimed at vindication, not profit.
The hearing, expected to last seven days, is being overseen by Mr Justice Swift.
Claimants include John Clark, who suffered injuries in the 1973 explosion near the Old Bailey, as well as Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock, both of whom were hurt in IRA attacks in 1996, one in London’s Docklands and the other near the Arndale Centre in Manchester.
These three bombings are noted as the opening and closing IRA assaults executed in Britain.
In March 1973, a car bomb detonated outside the Old Bailey, causing injuries to more than 200 individuals and extensive property damage. Investigators revealed that the bomb had been transported from Belfast to Liverpool by ferry before reaching London.
Over two decades later, on February 9, 1996, an IRA truck bomb exploded in London’s Docklands, resulting in the deaths of two people and injuring many others. Shortly afterward, another bombing took place near Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre in June 1996.
A report highlighted that the Manchester attack was the most potent bomb explosion in Britain since World War II, resulting in over 200 injuries.
The lawyers representing the plaintiffs intend to provide testimony from a variety of witnesses, which will include former members of the IRA, retired police officers, and military personnel.
Two witnesses have been granted anonymity and will testify privately, away from public scrutiny.
Adams, now 77, is anticipated to defend himself in court next week, maintaining his repeated denials of involvement with the bombings or the IRA itself.
In a recent article in the Andersonstown News, Adams dismissed the allegations against him.
“I expect several witnesses will give hearsay testimony that, given my senior position in the republican movement during the conflict, I must be implicated in these specific incidents,” he stated.
“I had no direct or indirect connection to these explosions.”
“I will vigorously contest the baseless hearsay claims that form the core of the plaintiffs' case.”
The legal representatives of the plaintiffs highlight that this trial will be the first instance of Adams facing cross-examination in an English courtroom concerning his alleged leadership role in the IRA.
The judge will evaluate liability based on the civil standard of proof, known as “the balance of probabilities.”
The lawsuit was filed in 2022, just prior to the UK government enacting the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which prohibits new civil claims related to the Troubles, a statute currently being challenged.
The plaintiffs have managed to gather over £100,000 through crowdfunding to support their case, emphasizing that they are pursuing justice not only for themselves but also for all victims of IRA violence.
In a preliminary ruling, it was decided that even if Adams successfully defends the case, he will be unable to recover his legal fees from the plaintiffs, which may amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The IRA was accountable for approximately 1,700 deaths throughout the Troubles.
Adams faced charges of IRA membership in 1978, but the allegations were later dropped due to insufficient evidence. His only convictions during this period were for two attempts to escape from detention without trial in the mid-1970s, which were annulled in 2020.
He has also been questioned under oath regarding his supposed connections to the IRA during the Ballymurphy Inquest in Belfast in 2019 and in a defamation suit against the BBC in Dublin in the previous year.
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