POLICE in Manchester have refused to comment on whether several men being held in custody in connection with "other offences" outside the city have been identified as those who carried out the IRA bombing in Manchester last June, writes Rachel Donnelly.
The assistant chief constable of Manchester police, Mr Colin Philips, said yesterday that investigations into the IRA bombing were "ongoing" and he did not wish to comment.
A report in the Manchester Evening News yesterday alleged that Manchester police had identified the men in custody as those who plotted the bombing of the city in which 300 people were injured. The report also alleged that the men might be charged with conspiracy to cause an explosion within the next four weeks.
In response to speculation that Manchester police were preparing a confidential file for the Crown Prosecution Service which would name the men and allege their involvement in the IRA bombing, a spokesman from the CPS said: "We have not had a file. It is clear that if these men were to go to court the defence could argue that what is being suggested in these news stories could be prejudicial."