A High Court hearing has begun in London this morning in which a civil case has been brought against former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams by three survivors of IRA bomb attacks in Great Britain.
The victims including Barry Laycock was injured in the 1996 bombings in Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre are suing Mr Adams on the basis of his alleged affiliation with and leadership role in the Provisional IRA, which he denies.
They claim Mr Adams “acted together with others in furtherance of a common design to bomb the British mainland” and was “directly responsible” in various roles within the Provisional IRA for decisions made to place devices in 1973 and 1996.
The three claimants are seeking £1 in damages “for vindicatory purposes in respect of their loss and damage sustained as a result of those incidents for which the defendant is alleged to be liable”.
The men also wanted to sue the Provisional IRA but Mr Justice Soole said that claim must be struck out because it is “not a legal entity”.
Barry Laycock was blown off his feet when a bomb exploded near Manchester Arndale shopping centre in June 1996 and said he also believes the long-term impact of the attack contributed to his wife Christine’s death in 2010..
The others taking part in the action are John Clark, a victim of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing in London and Jonathan Ganesh, a 1996 London Docklands bombing victim, The case is expected to run until next Tuesday.
