TWO IRA terrorists -- the first to be tried at the Old Bailey since
the ceasefire was announced -- yesterday were convicted of plotting a
bombing campaign.
Gerard Mackin and Derek Doherty showed no emotion as the jury of seven
men and five women found them guilty after ten-and-a-half hours of
deliberation.
The jury have still to reach a verdict on a third Irishman -- Thomas
McAuley -- accused of taking part in the London bombing plot.
Mackin, 33, and Doherty, 23, both of no fixed address, and Mr McAuley,
37, a plasterer, of Lido Square, Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London, all
denied conspiring to cause explosions between January and October last
year.
Twelve bombs were planted in north London over seven days last
October. No-one was seriously hurt but there was widespread damage,
according to Mr Nigel Sweeney, prosecuting. The men behind the bombing
campaign intended that more bombs should go off later, Mr Sweeney
alleged.
The court has heard that, after the three were arrested, police
discovered high explosives and bomb-making equipment in a flat they were
using and, hidden behind the bath panel in Mr McAuley's Lido Square
flat, found 10 Provisional IRA bomb devices, 10 detonators, five kilos
of Semtex, and 16 incendiary devices.
Both Mr McAuley and Mackin had known each other in the Ardoyne area of
Belfast, where they had lived before going to London in 1985, according
to the prosecution.
Mr McAuley has stated that he had no idea there was bomb-making
equipment under the bath. He had no connection with terrorism, he told
the jury.
''I honestly did not know it was there. I was surprised when the
police told me,'' Mr McAuley told the jury in evidence. He said he had
never been involved in terrorism.
His counsel, Mr Ronald Thwaites, QC, accused Mr Justice Alliott of
bullying and badgering Mr McAuley. Mr Thwaites said the judge had sent
signals to the jury that he did not like Mr McAuley or believe a word of
his case.
Mackin and Doherty are not expected to be sentenced until the jury
returns its verdict on Mr McAuley.
The first four bombs in the campaign were planted in Finchley on
October 1, and three exploded. Passers-by were hit by flying glass but
no-one was seriously hurt. On October 4, six more bombs were planted in
three pairs.
The first pair exploded in Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, damaging premises.
No-one was hurt but a man on his way to work ''had a particularly
fortunate escape'', said Mr Sweeney.
The second pair, in Archway Road, caused considerable damage but again
hurt no-one.
Only one of the third pair in Highgate High Street went off. A man
walking along the street saw a dog running off with a bag. He examined
it, thought it was a home-made doorbell, and put it down again. As he
walked away, there was an explosion.
The final two bombs went off on October 8, one near Staples Corner and
one in West End Lane, West Hampstead, both causing much damage.
Mackin had been a target for MI5 surveillance for some time.
The head of the MI5 section responsible for investigating and
countering IRA terrorism in Britain -- ''Mr Z'' -- confirmed that Mackin
was being watched by MI5 in April last year on the day of the
Bishopsgate bomb, which killed one man and injured 44.
Ironically, Mackin was legitimately working round the corner from
Bishopsgate that day. As a result of the enormous amount of damage in
the area, he was called back to help repair water mains. There was no
suggestion he had anything to do with that blast.
Six months later -- on October 8 -- he was still under surveillance
but his shadowers lost him for a while on the night of the October 8
blasts.
The jury were sent to a hotel for a second night.
They return today to continue their deliberations on the case of Mr
McAuley.
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