List of terrorist incidents in London


This is a list of incidents in London that have been labelled as "terrorism". It includes various bomb attacks and other politically driven violent incidents.

Irish republican attacks

Fenian attacks during the Fenian Dynamite Campaign 1867–1885

;1867
  • 13 December 1867: "Clerkenwell Outrage": A bomb planted by Fenians at New Prison in Clerkenwell exploded, killing twelve passers-by.
;1881
;1882
  • 12 May 1882: A bomb exploded at the Mansion House, London.
;1883
;1884
;1885
  • 2 January 1885: A bomb exploded at Gower Street station, London.
  • 20 January 1885: A bomb exploded on a Metropolitan line train at Gower Street tube station. No injuries were reported, although some passengers received minor cuts from broken glass.
  • 24 January 1885: Bombs exploded at a number of locations in central London, including the House of Commons chamber, in Westminster Hall, in the Banqueting Room of the Tower of London and London Bridge. PCs Thomas Cox and William Cole and four civilians were injured. Two men were sentenced to penal servitude for life as a result.

    Republican attacks during the Sabotage Campaign

On 16 January 1939, the Irish Republican Army launched a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of Britain. It was known as the S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign. During the campaign, the IRA carried out almost 300 attacks and acts of sabotage in Britain, killing seven people and injuring 96. It petered out in early 1940.

1939

  • 16 January 1939: a bomb exploded outside the control room of a large power station. It created a large crater in the forecourt of the building. There were no casualties and the control station was reportedly undamaged. A second explosion damaged an overhead cable running from Grand Union Canal to Willesden Power Station.
  • 17 January 1939: A bomb exploded at Williams & Deacons Bank, damaging gas mains.
  • 4 February 1939: Two bombs exploded in the London Underground – one at Tottenham Court Road station and one at Leicester Square station. They were timed suitcase bombs stored in the left-luggage rooms overnight. There were no deaths, although two people were wounded and severe damage was done to the stations.
  • 9 February 1939: Two bombs exploded at King's Cross station.
  • 2 March 1939: A bomb exploded on an aqueduct for the Grand Union Canal near Stonebridge Park.
  • 23 March 1939: Five bombs exploded at different times during the day. Targets included telephone and gas installations, and the offices of the News Chronicle in Fleet Street.
  • 29 March 1939: Two bombs exploded on Hammersmith Bridge.
  • 31 March 1939: Seven bombs exploded in different parts of the city.
  • 13 April 1939: Six bombs exploded in London and Birmingham. These had the appearance of being no more than trial explosions as all occurred in public lavatories.
  • 5 May 1939: Two bombs exploded.
  • 9 June 1939: Bombs exploded in thirty post offices and postboxes in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
  • 24 June 1939: Several bombs exploded before or after a republican demonstration demanding the release of IRA volunteers.
  • 24 June 1939: Bombs exploded at the London branches of the Midland Bank, Westminster Bank and Lloyds Bank.
  • 26 July 1939: Two bombs exploded in the London Underground – one in the left-luggage area of King's Cross station and one in the left-luggage area of Victoria Station. In the King's Cross attack, one man was killed and two wounded. In the Victoria Station attack five were wounded.

    1940

  • 6 February 1940: Two bombs exploded in mailbags at Euston Station.
  • 23 February 1940: Two bombs exploded in the West End. The devices had been placed in litter bins. More than 20 people were wounded.
  • 6 March 1940: A bomb was set off at Park Lane Bank and in King's Inn Road in London.
  • 17 March 1940: There was an explosion near Paddington Town Hall.
  • 18 March 1940: Bomb explodes on a rubbish dump in London. No injuries.

    Republican attacks during the Troubles

During the Troubles, the Provisional Irish Republican Army and other republican groups were responsible for nearly 500 incidents in England, most of them in London. During the thirty-year campaign, 50 people were killed in London. This includes 28 civilians, 15 soldiers and 5 police officers. Two IRA members were also killed. In many cases telephoned warnings were given about bombs due to explode, identified as genuine by the use of a code word. In some cases the warning gave the wrong location, or did not give enough time to evacuate the area. Hoax calls, intended to cause disruption, were often made.

1970–1979

;1973
  • 8 March 1973: The Provisional Irish Republican Army conducted its first operation in England, planting four car bombs in London. Two of the car bombs were defused: a fertilizer bomb in a car outside the Post Office in Broadway and the BBC's armed forces radio studio in Dean Stanley Street. However, the other two exploded, one near the Old Bailey and the other at Ministry of Agriculture off Whitehall. Ten members of the IRA unit, including Gerry Kelly, Roy Walsh, Dolours Price and Marian Price, were arrested at Heathrow Airport trying to leave the country.
  • 23 August 1973: A bomb was found in an abandoned bag in Baker Street station ticket hall. The bomb was defused. A week later another bomb was found by a member of staff at the same station and was also defused.
  • 31 August: A bomb exploded in Old Quebec Street, Marble Arch damaging two hotels.
  • 8 September 1973: A bomb exploded in the ticket office at Victoria station injuring 4 people.
  • 10 September 1973: King's Cross station and Euston station bombings: Two bombs at mainline stations injured 13 people and brought chaos to central London. The first explosion at King's Cross station – which injured five people – occurred without any warning at 1224 BST, seconds after a witness saw a youth throw a bag into a booking hall. Fifty minutes later a second blast rocked a snack bar at Euston station, injuring a further eight people.
  • 18 December 1973: 1973 Westminster bombing: A bomb exploded in Thorney Street, which leads off Horseferry Road. The bomb was planted in a car which was known to have been stolen in London, and was parked outside Horseferry House, a building occupied by the Home Office, and opposite Thames House, which is mainly occupied by the Department of Trade and Industry. Both these buildings, and others nearby, were extensively damaged. At least 40 people were injured.
  • 24 December 1973: The Provisional IRA left two packages which exploded almost simultaneously in the late evening on Christmas Eve. One was in the doorway of the North Star public house, at the junction of College Crescent and Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage, which exploded injuring six people, and the other exploded on the upstairs verandah of the nearby Swiss Cottage Tavern where an unspecified number of people were injured.
  • 26 December 1973: A bomb was detonated in a telephone kiosk in the booking hall at Sloane Square station. Nobody was injured.
;1974
  • 5 January 1974: Two bombs exploded within three minutes of each other. The first at Madame Tussauds, the second during the Boat Show at Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Police confirmed a telephone warning had been given shortly before both explosions allowing evacuations at both sites and there were no fatalities or injuries reported. It was later confirmed the devices had been planted by the IRA.
  • 19 May 1974: A bomb exploded on the third level of a multi-storey car park at Terminal 1 at Heathrow Airport, London. of explosive was left in a BMC 1100 car. The Press Association had received a warning at 11.05 a.m. and police were clearing the site at 11.17 a.m when the explosion occurred. Four people suffered minor injuries. Several vehicles were destroyed and others damaged. At 10.25 p.m. another warning was received about a bomb at the NAAFI headquarters in Kennington Lane. A police search found a bag containing about of explosive at the rear of the building. The bomb was defused.
  • 17 June 1974: 1974 Houses of Parliament bombing: A bomb exploded at the Houses of Parliament in London, causing extensive damage and injuring 11 people.
  • 17 July 1974: 1974 Tower of London bombing: An explosion in the Tower of London left one person dead and 41 injured. This was the second bomb in London on this day. At 0430 BST there was an explosion at government buildings in Balham, South London. Nobody was injured in the morning blast but there was substantial damage to surrounding buildings.
  • 11 October 1974: Bombs explode at Victory Services Club and Army and Navy Club. One injured.
  • 22 October 1974: Brook's Club bomb attack: A bomb exploded in the Brooks Club, London, injuring three members of staff.
  • 24 October 1974: Harrow School bombing: No injuries.
  • 7 November 1974: An off-duty soldier and a civilian were killed when a bomb was thrown through the window of the Kings Arms pub in Woolwich, and 28 people were injured.
  • 25 and 27 November 1974: 1974 London pillar box bombings: Provisional IRA exploded bombs inside pillar boxes in various places around London, injuring 40 people.
  • 30 November 1974: A device exploded near Talbot Public House in Little Chester Street, SW1. Eight people injured.
  • 11 December 1974: One person was wounded in an explosion at the Naval and Military Club in Piccadilly.
  • 14 December 1974: Shooting at the Churchill Hotel in Portman Square injured four people.
  • 17 December 1974: Bombs detonated on two telephone exchanges: one on Draycott Avenue, SW3, injuring four people; another in Chenies Street, killing one person and injuring another.
  • 19 December 1974: Oxford Street bombing: The IRA carried out a bomb attack on Selfridge's department store in Oxford Street, London. A time bomb had been placed in a car which was then parked outside the store. Three telephone warnings were given and the area was evacuated. The explosion was later estimated to have caused £1.5 million worth of damage.
  • 21 December 1974: A bomb exploded on the first floor in the furniture department of Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, London causing a fire but without injuries. Another bomb was defused in the King's Arms public house in Warminster, Wiltshire.
  • 22 December 1974: A car bomb exploded at former Prime Minister Edward Heath's home in Victoria, London. Heath was not at home at the time but arrived 10 minutes later. Minor damage. No injuries.
;1975
  • 19 January 1975: Eight people were injured in machinegun attacks on Portman Hotel and Carlton Tower Hotel.
  • 23 January 1975: A time bomb at the Woodford Waterworks pumping station in North London exploded, causing three injuries.
  • 27 January 1975: Seven time-bombs at multiple spots in London. At 6:30 pm a bomb exploded at Gieves, in Old Bond Street. At 9:30 pm bombs exploded at the Moreson chemical plant in Ponders End and a disused gas works in Enfield. Only minimal damage was caused by these two bombs. Two further bombs exploded in Kensington High Street and Victoria Street. A warning was given of a bomb in Putney High Street and a British Army bomb-disposal officer was able to defuse the device. A warning was also given for a bomb in Hampstead and it was defused. Two people were injured from the Kensington High Street bomb.
  • 26 February 1975: Murder of Stephen Tibble.
  • 28 August 1975: Seven people were injured when a bomb exploded near Peter Browns Outfitters in Oxford Street, London, outside the south-east corner of Selfridges store. A telephone warning was issued to The Sun newspaper five minutes before the explosion.
  • 29 August 1975: One person was killed in an explosion in Kensington Church Street.
  • 5 September 1975: London Hilton bombing: Two people were killed and 63 injured when an IRA bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton hotel in London.
  • 29 September 1975: Bomb in Oxford Street injured seven.
  • 9 October 1975: 1975 Piccadilly bombing: A bomb detonated at a bus stop outside Green Park tube station, killing 23-year-old Graham Ronald Tuck and injuring at least 20 people – two of them children.
  • 12 October 1975: Bomb planted at Lockett's Restaurant in Marsham Street, Westminster, a popular haunt of Tory MPs. It contained 27.5 lb of gelignite. It was spotted by the restaurant manager and defused with minutes to spare.
  • 23 October 1975: Device explodes in Campden Hill Square, W8, killing one person and injuring one.
  • 29 October 1975: Trattoria Fiore bombing: 18 people are injured in a bomb attack on an Italian restaurant.
  • 3 November 1975: Several people injured by a car bomb in Connaught Square, London W2.
  • 12 November 1975: Scott's Oyster Bar bombing - one killed and 15 hurt.
  • 17 November 1975: Walton's Restaurant bombing: A bomb was thrown through a window into Walton's Restaurant in Walton Street, Knightsbridge, killing two people and injuring 23 others. The restaurant was owned by established restaurateurs Robert Wren and Norman Swallow and was often frequented by celebrity diners.
  • 27 November 1975: Ross McWhirter was shot at his home Village Road, Bush Hill Park, Enfield, Middlesex by two IRA volunteers, Harry Duggan and Hugh Doherty, and died soon after in hospital.
  • 6–12 December 1975: Balcombe Street Siege: Four IRA members held two people hostage at 22b Balcombe Street.
;1976
  • 29 January 1976: 12 bombs exploded in the West End of London during the night. A 13th device was discovered later in an HMV record store. The bombs were small, between about. Several started small fires. One person was injured.
  • 13 February 1976: A bomb was found in a small case at Oxford Circus station and was defused.
  • 21 February 1976: Bomb at Selfridges in Oxford Street cause five injuries.
  • 4 March 1976: Cannon Street train bombing: A bomb exploded in an empty train near Cannon Street station, injuring eight people in a passing train.
  • 15 March 1976: West Ham station attack: An IRA bomb exploded on a Metropolitan line train at West Ham station, on the Hammersmith & City section of the line. The bomber, Vincent Donnelly, possibly took the wrong train and attempted to return to his destination. However, the bomb detonated prior to reaching the City of London. Donnelly shot Peter Chalk, a Post Office engineer, and shot and killed the train's driver Julius Stephen, who had attempted to catch the perpetrator. Donnelly then shot himself, but survived and was apprehended by police.
  • 16 March 1976: An empty train was severely damaged by a bomb at Wood Green station. The train was about to pick up fans from an Arsenal football match, but the bomb detonated prior to arriving at the station, injuring one passenger standing on the platform. Three men were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for this attack.
  • 27 March 1976: 1976 Olympia bombing: A bomb placed by the Provisional IRA exploded in a litter bin at the top of an escalator in a crowded exhibition hall. Approximately 15,000 people were attending the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition at the time, and 80 people were injured. One woman later dies of her injuries.
;1977
  • 29 January 1977: Thirteen bombs detonated in and around Oxford Street within 50 minutes shortly after midnight, wrecking buildings and setting Selfridges ablaze. At least one man was injured.
;1978
  • 18 December 1978: Three bombs exploded near the British Museum and YMCA. Four people were hurt.
;1979