Manchester bomb 20 years on: Blast that shook a city and changed it forever

No-one was killed but more than 200 were injured, and the city was left in a scene of destruction. Reporter Andrew Bardsley looks back on that fateful day in 1996.

MUCH like the country is now preparing to get behind England during a summer of football, 20 years ago in June 1996, people were doing the same.

Manchester was awash with colour on Saturday, June 15, with fans of all nationalities travelling to England for the Euro 96 tournament held across the country.

A game between Russia and Germany was scheduled to take place the following day at Old Trafford, and fans of Italy and the Czech Republic were also in town as their games were being played at Manchester United’s ground and also at Anfield in Liverpool.

Being Saturday, it was also a busy shopping day in the city centre, with people making the most of their weekends.

But no-one could foresee what was about to happen, and how it would shape the fabric of the city in years to come.

At 9.20am a red and white van parked on Corporation Street, near to the Marks and Spencer store.

Two men left the vehicle and abandoned it. The van was parked on yellow lines, and was shortly issued with a ticket.

Then at 9.40am, a call was made to Granada Studios claiming that there was a bomb on Corporation Street that would go off in an hour’s time.

The caller had an Irish accent and gave an IRA codeword to confirm the threat was genuine.

Warnings were also called in to other members of the media and a hospital.

And at that point a major evacuation of the city was launched, with an estimated 80,000 people in the vicinity at the time.

Officers from Bootle Street station in the city centre ran through shops, offices and other areas of the city to warn them of the imminent threat, and to urge them to leave the area.

They were supported by extra officers who were based in the city because of Euro 96, as well as staff and security guards from nearby shops.

By 11am, a 400-metre cordon had been established from the van, which was seen to have wires coming out of it.

About 10 minutes earlier the bomb squad had arrived after travelling from its Liverpool base, and tried to defuse the explosives using a remote controlled device.

But they ran out of time, and at 11.17am, the bomb detonated.

Windows in nearby shops shattered, glass was thrown into the air, with people up to half a mile away being showered with debris.

A huge mushroom cloud engulfed the city, rising about 1,000 feet high.

The emergency services helped the walking wounded who received cuts and other injuries from the flying debris.

A metrolink tram was commandeered by police officers to take 79 casualties to North Manchester General Hospital, and another 80 to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Amazingly no-one was killed.

In total, the blast caused an estimated £700 million worth of damage.

About 12 buildings in the immediate vicinity of the blast were severely damaged, and estimates suggest about 400 businesses were affected, of which around 40 per cent did not recover.

The sky bridge connecting Marks and Spencer to the Arndale Centre was also destroyed.

One of the few items to survive the blast was a red post box, which still stands on Corporation Street and now features a plaque to remember the incident.

The bomb was then the biggest to hit the British mainland in peacetime, and was the latest attack by the IRA in an escalating campaign of terror in its overall objective of achieving the unification of Ireland.

In 1994, the IRA had declared a “complete cessation in military operations”, but this ended in February 1996, months before the Manchester incident, when a huge bomb exploded at London’s Canary Wharf, killing two people.

The IRA claimed responsibility for the Manchester bomb five days later, but those behind the Manchester bomb have never been brought to justice.

Police investigations following the blast centred on the van itself.

CCTV footage showed that the van had been driven to London on the M1 the day before, where it is believed the explosives, a 1,500kg mix of military grade explosive semtex and ammonium nitrate fertiliser, were believed to have been loaded into the van.

The last owner of the truck was tracked down, who said it had been sold on to a dealer in Peterborough. It was then sold to another man two weeks before the bombing.

Phone records showed calls to the dealer had been made from Ireland, and that one of the callers was a known IRA member.

Police believed six IRA members in London convicted and sent to prison for a total of 35 years for conspiring to blow up National Grid electricity stations may have been responsible for the Manchester bombing.

Detectives felt they had enough evidence, but a file was not sent to the Crown Prosecution Service until 1998, when it decided not to prosecute.

In 2006 on the 10th anniversary of the bombing, police and the CPS said they felt there was no realistic prospect of a conviction.

While there was little progress in the criminal investigation into the bomb, the city centre has since been redeveloped and attracted investment.

Some including former Bradford North MP Terry Rooney claimed the bomb was “the best thing that ever happened to Manchester” because it forced planners into development, while others disagree.

Howard Bernstein, the chief executive of Manchester City Council, said redevelopment plans were already in place, in addition to the city’s failed bids to host the Olympics and eventual success in being selected to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

In 2006 a memorial service was held at Manchester Cathedral, where a candle was lit at 11.17am, 10 years to the minute the bomb exploded.

This year an immersive play is being held at Home in Manchester, featuring testimonies of those present on the day.

But perhaps the best summary of the lasting legacy of the bomb came during a speech made by Canon Paul Denby, the sub dean of Manchester, during the 2006 service.

He said: “Bombs are never 'good things', and though we rejoice in a city that in many ways leads not just this country but the world with its magnificent architecture and vibrant culture, we cannot forget those whose lives were traumatised, and for some, remain traumatised by that violent intrusion into their lives."