Man accused of deadly Hyde Park bombing arrested over soldiers murders

A man who was accused of carrying out a 1982 bombing that killed four soldiers has been arrested over two ot..

By admin , in England , at November 6, 2018

A man who was accused of carrying out a 1982 bombing that killed four soldiers has been arrested over two other murders.

Police in Northern Ireland said John Downey has been arrested on suspicion of murdering two Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers in a bomb attack in Enniskillen in 1972.

He is also accused of aiding and abetting an explosion.

John Downey was accused of a deadly Hyde Park bombing but the trial collapsed (Picture: Central News)

The 66-year-old is expected to appear at Dublin High Court on Tuesday.

In 2013, Downey, from County Donegal, was charged with murdering four Royal Household Cavalrymen with a bomb in Londons Hyde Park, but his trial dramatically collapsed.

A spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland said: Following careful consideration of all available evidence, a decision has been taken to prosecute one person for the offence of murder and for aiding and abetting the causing of an explosion.

Extradition proceedings were initiated in the High Court in Dublin on Monday November 5, to seek the extradition of one man from the Republic of Ireland for trial in Northern Ireland.

BLACK AND WHITE ONLY File photo dated 20/07/82 of the scene following an IRA car bomb blast in Hyde Park, London, which killed four Royal Household Cavalrymen and seven horses, as they rode through the central London park to attend the Changing of the Guard. Convicted IRA member John Downey suspected of involvement in the Hyde Park bombing has said he does not intend to take part in a High Court claim brought against him by the victims' families. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday October 30, 2018. Relatives of the four Royal Household Cavalrymen who died in the July 1982 blast are suing John Downey, who has always denied involvement in the attack. Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright, 36, Lieutenant Dennis Daly, 23, Trooper Simon Tipper, 19, and Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young, 19, were killed by the car bomb. Mr Downey was charged four years ago with the murders, but the prosecution at the Old Bailey collapsed. See PA story COURTS HydePark. Photo credit should read: PA NEWS/PA Wire — The scene following the Hyde Park bombing in 1982 (Picture: PA)

One man was subsequently arrested in County Donegal this evening and is due to appear in court in Dublin tomorrow.

Downey has always denied involvement in the Hyde Park attack.

He was freed after it was revealed he received a written assurance from former prime minister Tony Blairs government that he was not actively wanted by the authorities.

Trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney ruled that Mr Downeys arrest at Gatwick airport, as he transited the UK on the way to a holiday, represented an abuse of process and he put a stay on any future prosecution in relation to the Hyde Park case.

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