The Ealing car bomb was a "callous and potentially murderous" attack by terrorists determined to destroy the Northern Ireland peace process, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mr David Veness said yesterday.
As a forensic examination was carried out around Ealing Broadway in London where the 40kg bomb exploded on Thursday close to bars and restaurants, police said they believed the so-called "Real IRA" was responsible for the attack.
The bombing was the second terrorist attack in London this year and the seventh terrorist attack in the capital since last June. It comes at a critical phase for Northern Ireland as the British and Irish governments await the response of the pro-agreement parties to the latest proposals to break the deadlock. Next week's August 12th deadline may determine the immediate future of the political institutions.
Intelligence has revealed the grey Saab 9000 five-door saloon in which the bomb, possibly made from fertiliser, was concealed was bought by a man with pock-marked skin and a "soft" Northern Irish accent in Ilford, Essex, on July 19th.
Deputy assistant metropolitan commissioner Mr Alan Fry said the man, in his mid-30s and with dark blond hair, bought the car from the Assured Car Finance company. Without disputing the price, he paid £425 in cash and asked for directions to the "406", which police believe was the North Circular Road, also known as the A406. The road is one route around the edge of north London from Ilford to Ealing.
On July 30th, the Saab was reported abandoned in a residential road near the car company, which Mr Fry described as "an oddity". He said police did not know why the car was abandoned so soon, what had happened to it in the intervening period, or where it was taken after it was reported abandoned.
Examination of the bomb-site had uncovered pieces of blue plastic believed to be part of a barrel-type container similar to those used in recent attacks in Northern Ireland. Such a container was also used to transport the taxi bomb that exploded outside BBC headquarters in London in March, Mr Fry said.
Police are working on the possibility that the bombers travelled to London to plant the bomb or live in the capital intermittently.
The bomb warning was made to a doctors' on-call centre at 11.33 p.m., but Mr Veness said the warning gave no details of when it the bomb would explode. The warning mentioned Ealing Broadway Road, which did not exist, and no description of the car was given.
Just 27 minutes after the telephone call and as police were still trying to evacuate the area, the bomb exploded near the Townhouse pub and Ealing Broadway Underground station.
Seven people were injured, none seriously, but police said with hundreds of people in the area the potential for loss of life was enormous.