https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-68179801
A survivor of the IRA attack on Manchester has said he is determined to “get closure” for hundreds of victims after being told he can continue to sue former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.
Barry Laycock was blown off his feet when a bomb exploded near Manchester Arndale shopping centre in June 1996.
More than 200 were injured in what was described as the most powerful bomb to go off in Britain since World War Two.
It left the former British Rail worker with severe back and leg injuries.
He told BBC North West Tonight that what happened on 15 June 1996 “completely changed my life” and he was forced into early retirement as a result.
“I’m still feeling the physical and psychological effects,” he said.
“I am still on medication and have to wear morphine patches.”
He said he also believes the long-term impact of the attack contributed to his wife Christine’s death in 2010.
‘Not about money’
Nobody has ever been charged in connection with the bombing, but Mr Laycock, along with two other men injured by Irish Republican Army bombings in London in the 1970s and 1990s, wants to bring claims against Mr Adams for “vindicatory purposes”.
They have alleged Mr Adams was an IRA leader and therefore responsible for its members’ actions.
Mr Adams has consistently denied being a member of the IRA.
Mr Laycock, who lives in West Yorkshire, has been told by the High Court that he can take legal action against the former Sinn Féin leader, but only as an individual, not as an IRA representative.
The judge also confirmed that the victims would have legal costs protection for the civil action, which is seeking symbolic damages of £1.
Mr Laycock said it was “not about money”.
“We want it to be put to bed, once and for all,” he said.
John Clark and Jonathan Ganesh, who were respectively victims of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the 1996 London Docklands attack, have joined with Mr Laycock to take the action.
They have alleged 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 IRA for decisions made to place devices in 1973 and 1996.
Mr Adams, who has denied the allegations, asked Mr Justice Soole to dismiss the case against him at a hearing in November.
His barrister, Richard Hermer KC, argued that the IRA was “incapable in law of being sued” and that the “representative” aspects of claims should be struck out.
Mr Laycock said all he wanted was “justice”, adding that “not a day goes by” that he does not think about what happened.
by Gazmac_868855
7 comments
If Gerry Adams had the reach and control over the IRA,that is alleged here, they’d have laid down arms a decade or more sooner
Isn’t dying the only way to achieve ‘closure’ on one’s life experience?
I don’t have an issue with this. But I am afraid a civil suit will not give him closure.
It’s sad how the media use these victims whenever they need some muck to throw at Sein Fein.
Prior to elections, we always see the relatives of the disappeared and the victims of the Warrington bombings.
The DUP and unionism on a whole have had a few tough months years in fact. Did anyone mention MON family were in the Ra?
If they can only sue Adams ‘only as an individual, not as an IRA representative’, then what case have they? Unless they can prove he was materially involved in the bombing – which, of course, they will never be able to do.
And what is the basis of granting legal costs protection for a case that is so exploratory in nature?
Crappy BBC reporting. The court ruling was that the PIRA couldn’t be due as it was both an illegal organisation and completely defunct.
He can attempt to suit Adams but considering nobody has proved he was a member of the IRA, let alone one of its leaders, it’s not going to accomplish much. If anything it’s more likely he could successfully sue them for defamation (though that would also be a very long shot)
The McConville family [raised a sum of money](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/mcconville-family-raise-20000-to-sue-sinn-fein-over-murder/41560118.html) a number of years ago with the intent to launch a civil action against Sinn fein for the alleged stake past or present members had in the disappearance and murder of their mother.
Not sure how far they got with the campaign or the proceedings. .
The above seems like a interesting development.
It seems like the incident caused enduring trauma, truncated the mans working life. Caused lasting injury which requires potent opioid pain medication to manage.