The 2001 BBC bombing was a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

attack on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

's main news centre within

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for TV production, oper ...

, on

Wood Lane Wood Lane ( A219, formerly A40) is a street in London. It runs north from Shepherd's Bush, under the Westway (A40) past Wormwood Scrubs where it meets Scrubs Lane. The road is wholly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham ( W12 postal ...

in the

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football c ...

area of

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

History

At 12:27 am (0027 UTC) on Sunday 4 March 2001, the

Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a Dissident republican, dissident Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional ...

, a dissident

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

group, detonated a car bomb outside the

's main news centre within

, on

in the

area of West London. Between ten and twenty pounds of high explosive had been placed in a red

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

, reports by BBC after the bombing reported that it was a black taxi but was later identified as a red taxi. The taxi was purchased on the morning of 3 March in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

, north London, and abandoned yards from the main front door of BBC Television Centre at 11 pm. Police officers were attempting to carry out a

controlled explosion A controlled explosion is a method for detonating or disabling a suspected explosive device. Methods which are used to set off a controlled explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of e ...

on the bomb with a bomb-disposal robot when it went off. Staff had already been evacuated after police received a coded warning that had been given to a London hospital and charity one hour before the explosion. There were no fatalities, though one

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The U ...

worker suffered cuts to his eye caused by glass debris. BBC cameras caught the moment of the explosion and the resulting damage—which included numerous smashed windows in the front entrance—was seen as day broke. As the explosion happened just after midnight, some reports of the incident say that it happened on 3 March rather than 4 March.

Conviction

The bomb was part of a Real IRA bombing campaign which would also include the Ealing bombing of 3 August 2001 and an attempted bombing in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

city centre on 3 November 2001. Later in November, three men—Noel Maguire, Robert Hulme, and his brother Aiden Hulme—were arrested in connection with all three bomb attacks. They were convicted at the Old Bailey on 8 April 2003, together with two other men—James McCormack, of

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, and John Hannan, of

Newtownbutler Newtownbutler or Newtown Butler is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the southeast corner of the county, near Lough Erne, the border with County Monaghan, and the town of Clones. It is surrounded by small lakes and ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

, both of whom had already admitted the charge at an earlier hearing. The Hulme brothers were both jailed for 20 years; Maguire, who the judge said played "a major part in the bombing conspiracy", was sentenced to 22 years; McCormack, who the judge said had played the most serious part of the five, also received 22 years; and Hannan, who was 17 at the time of the incidents, was given 16 years' detention.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:BBC Bombing Real Irish Republican Army actions 2001 crimes in the United Kingdom 2001 in London Car and truck bombings in London BBC history White City, London March 2001 events in the United Kingdom Terrorist incidents in London in the 2000s Attacks by Republicans since the Good Friday Agreement History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Building bombings in London Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 2001