View source for 1996 Manchester bombing

{{Short description|Provisional IRA attack in England}}
{{Good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox military operation
| title       = Manchester bombing
| partof      = [[the Troubles]]
| image       = BBC picture Arndale centre after 1996 bomb.jpg
| image_size  = 300px
| caption     = [[Corporation Street, Manchester|Corporation Street]] after the bombing
| location    = [[Corporation Street, Manchester|Corporation Street]] in [[Manchester city centre]]
| coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q4591514|type:event_region:GB-MAN|display=inline,title}}
| date        = {{Start date and age|1996|06|15|df=yes}}
| time        = 11:17<ref name="timeline">{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2006/06/21/150606_bomb_timeline_feature.shtml |title=Countdown to terror |publisher=BBC |date=21 June 2006 |access-date=9 September 2009 |archive-date=22 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222000648/http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2006/06/21/150606_bomb_timeline_feature.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>
| timezone    = [[British Summer Time|BST]]
| type        = [[Lorry bomb]]
| injuries    = 212<ref name="timeline"/>
| executed_by = [[Provisional IRA]]; exact perpetrators unknown, one arrest in September 2022
}}
{{Campaignbox The Troubles in Britain and Europe |state=collapsed}}

The '''1996 Manchester bombing''' was an attack carried out by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) on 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a {{convert|1500|kg|lb|adj=on}} [[lorry bomb]] on [[Corporation Street, Manchester|Corporation Street]] in the [[Manchester city centre|centre of]] [[Manchester]], England. It was the biggest bomb detonated in [[Great Britain]] since the [[World War II|Second World War]].{{sfnp|King|2006|p=139|ps=none}} It targeted the city's infrastructure and economy and caused significant damage, estimated by insurers at {{£|700|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{Inflation|UK-GDP|700000000|1996|r=-8}}|0}} in {{Inflation-year|index=UK-GDP}}), a sum surpassed only by the [[1993 Bishopsgate bombing]], also by the IRA.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Expensive Terrorist Attacks In The World |url=http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-price-of-terrorism-the-most-expensive-terrorist-attacks-in-the-world.html |work=World Atlas |date=21 February 2017 |access-date=23 May 2017 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=23 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523052247/http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-price-of-terrorism-the-most-expensive-terrorist-attacks-in-the-world.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the time, England was hosting the [[UEFA Euro 1996|Euro '96 football championship]] and a [[Russia national football team|Russia]] vs. [[Germany national football team|Germany]] match was scheduled to take place in Manchester the following day. The IRA sent telephoned warnings about 90 minutes before the bomb detonated. At least 75,000 people were evacuated from the region,<ref name="menjun16">{{cite web |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-ira-bomb-20-years-11425324 |title=Manchester bomb: June 15, 1996. A day that changed our city forever |first=Jennifer |last=Williams |date=15 June 2016 |work=Manchester Evening News |mode=cs2 |access-date=14 June 2016 |archive-date=14 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614115855/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-ira-bomb-20-years-11425324 |url-status=live}}</ref> but the [[Bomb disposal|bomb squad]] were unable to defuse the bomb in time. More than 200 people were injured, but there were no fatalities<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-36474535 |title=Manchester IRA bomb: Terror blast remembered 20 years on |first=Rumeana |last=Jahangir |date=15 June 2016 |publisher=BBC |mode=cs2 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713031408/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-36474535 |url-status=live}}</ref> despite the strength of the bomb, which has been largely credited to the rapid response of emergency services in evacuating the city centre.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/back-1996-ira-bombing-manchester/story?id=47582784 |title=A look back at the 1996 IRA bombing in Manchester |date=23 May 2017 |website=ABC News |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912113257/https://abcnews.go.com/International/back-1996-ira-bombing-manchester/story?id=47582784 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Scheerhout |first=John |date=15 June 2016 |title=The 999 heroes who made sure nobody died in the IRA bomb |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/ira-bomb-manchester-emergency-services-11451352?service=responsive |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017042454/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/ira-bomb-manchester-emergency-services-11451352?service=responsive |archive-date=17 October 2017 |access-date=12 February 2018 |work=Manchester Evening News |mode=cs2}}</ref>

Although Manchester had been targeted by the IRA before, it had not been subjected to an attack on this scale. In February 1996, the IRA had ended its 17-month ceasefire with a large [[1996 Docklands bombing|truck bomb attack on London's Docklands]] financial district, though the 3,300-pound bomb of Manchester was three times the size of the Docklands bomb.<ref name="menjun16"/> The Manchester bombing was condemned by the British and Irish Governments and US President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Joe |date=17 June 1996 |title=Irish, US presidents condemn IRA bombing in Manchester as news casts shadow over state visit |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irish-us-presidents-condemn-ira-bombing-in-manchester-as-news-casts-shadow-over-state-visit-1.59080 |access-date=13 November 2021 |newspaper=The Irish Times |archive-date=25 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425035826/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irish-us-presidents-condemn-ira-bombing-in-manchester-as-news-casts-shadow-over-state-visit-1.59080 |url-status=live }}</ref> Five days after the blast, the IRA issued a statement from [[Dublin]] in which it claimed responsibility but regretted causing injury to civilians.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=20 June 1996 |title=IRA Admits Manchester Bombing |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-20-mn-16714-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916003400/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-06-20/news/mn-16714_1_manchester-bombing |archive-date=16 September 2011 |access-date=8 September 2009 |location=Dublin |via=LA Times |mode=cs2}}</ref>

Several buildings were damaged beyond repair and had to be demolished, while many more were closed for months for structural repairs. Most of the rebuilding work was completed by the end of 1999, at a cost of £1.2&nbsp;billion, although redevelopment continued until 2005. The perpetrators have not been caught, and although [[Greater Manchester Police]] (GMP) had suggested it was unlikely that anyone will be charged in connection with the bombing,<ref>{{cite news |title=Manchester bombers escape trial |last=Atkins |first=Rebecca |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/5071916.stm |work=BBC |date=15 June 2006 |access-date=7 May 2011 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=7 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060707010501/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5071916.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> a suspect was arrested on 8 September 2022.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-62850703 |title=Manchester IRA 1996 bomb: Man arrested at Birmingham Airport |work=BBC News |date=9 September 2022 |access-date=9 September 2022 |archive-date=15 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615095739/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-62850703 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Background==
From 1970, the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] was carrying out an armed campaign with the ultimate objective of bringing about a [[united Ireland]]. As well as attacking military and political targets, it also bombed infrastructure and commercial targets in [[Northern Ireland]] and [[England]]. It believed that by damaging the economy and causing severe disruption, it could pressure the British government to negotiate a withdrawal from Northern Ireland.<ref>O'Day, Alan. ''Political Violence in Northern Ireland''. Greenwood Publishing, 1997. p.20</ref> Manchester had been the target of earlier IRA bombs. As part of the IRA's [[S-Plan|sabotage campaign in 1939-40]] multiple bombings took place in Manchester and other English cities. In 1973 and 1974, firebombs damaged city centre businesses for which one man was later imprisoned. In April 1974, a bomb exploded at Manchester Magistrates' Court, injuring twelve. In 1975, IRA bomb factories were found in [[Greater Manchester]], and five men were imprisoned for planning attacks in [[North West England]].<ref name="context: a quest for real peace"/> On 3 December 1992, the IRA [[1992 Manchester bombing|detonated two small bombs]] in Manchester city centre, forcing police to evacuate thousands of shoppers. More than 60 were hurt by shattered glass and the blasts cost an estimated £10&nbsp;million in damage and business losses.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/3/newsid_2519000/2519715.stm |title=1992: Bomb explosions in Manchester |website=BBC News |date=3 December 1992 |access-date=12 June 2016 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=7 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130948/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/3/newsid_2519000/2519715.stm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 December 2017 |title='Forgotten' IRA bomb 25th anniversary marked |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-42155928 |access-date=13 November 2021 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=15 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615095740/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-42155928 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Downing Street Declaration]] of 1993 allowed [[Sinn Féin]], a political party associated with the IRA,<ref name="LA Times"/>{{sfnp|Coogan|2002|p=258}} to participate in all-party [[Northern Ireland peace process|peace negotiations]] on condition that the IRA called a ceasefire. The IRA called a ceasefire on 31 August 1994. [[John Major]]'s [[Second Major ministry|government]], dependent on [[Ulster Unionist Party]] votes, then began insisting that the IRA must fully disarm before there could be any all-party negotiations. The IRA saw this as a demand for total surrender and believed the British were unwilling to hold negotiations.<ref name=alamos>[[Andy Oppenheimer|Oppenheimer, A. R.]] ''IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity''. Irish Academic Press, 2009. pp.128–130. {{ISBN|978-0-7165-2895-1}}</ref> It ended its ceasefire on 9 February 1996 when it [[1996 Docklands bombing|detonated a powerful truck bomb in Docklands]], one of the two financial districts of London. The blast killed two people and caused an estimated £150&nbsp;million worth of damage.<ref name="context: a quest for real peace">{{citation |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/special_reports/bomb/s/215/215648_context_a_quest_for_real_peace.html |title=Context: A quest for real peace |work=[[Manchester Evening News]] |date=13 June 2006 |access-date=7 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505125215/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/special_reports/bomb/s/215/215648_context_a_quest_for_real_peace.html |archive-date=5 May 2007}}</ref> The IRA then planted five other devices in London within the space of 10&nbsp;weeks.<ref name="Huge explosion rocks central Manchester">{{citation |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/15/newsid_2527000/2527009.stm |title=1996: Huge explosion rocks central Manchester |publisher=BBC |date=15 June 1996 |access-date=30 October 2009 |archive-date=7 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130338/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/15/newsid_2527000/2527009.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

The IRA planned to carry out a similar bombing in Manchester. The city may have been chosen because it was one of the host cities of the [[UEFA Euro 1996|Euro '96 football tournament]], attended by visitors and media organisations from all over Europe, guaranteeing the IRA what [[Margaret Thatcher]] called the "oxygen of publicity". A Russia vs Germany match was to take place at [[Old Trafford]] in Manchester a day after the bombing.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=29|ps=none}} The year before, Manchester had also won its bid to host the [[2002 Commonwealth Games]],<ref>{{citation |last=Rowbottom |first=Mike |title=Manchester Stadium Plan for 2002 Games |date=3 May 1995 |newspaper=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/manchester-stadium-plan-for-2002-games-1618038.html |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-date=11 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111105737/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/manchester-stadium-plan-for-2002-games-1618038.html |url-status=live}}</ref> at the time the biggest multi-sport event ever to be staged in Britain.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=183}}

On 10 June 1996, multi-party negotiations began in Belfast. Sinn Féin had been [[Northern Ireland Forum|elected to take part]] but were barred because the IRA had not resumed its ceasefire or agreed to disarm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch96.htm#Jun |title=Chronology of the Conflict: 1996 |website=[[Conflict Archive on the Internet]] (CAIN) |access-date=12 June 2016 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=17 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110417010027/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch96.htm#Jun |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Details of the bombing==
The IRA's [[Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade|South Armagh Brigade]] was tasked with planning and carrying out the attack. It had also been responsible for the [[Canary Wharf bombing|Docklands bombing]] in February, and the [[1993 Bishopsgate bombing|Bishopsgate bombing]] in 1993. Its members mixed the explosives in the [[Republic of Ireland]] and shipped them by freight from [[Dublin]] to England. In London, the bomb was assembled and loaded into the back of a red and white [[Ford Cargo]] lorry. On 14 June it was driven north towards Manchester, accompanied by a burgundy [[Ford Granada (Europe)|Ford Granada]] which served as a "scout car".<ref name=harnden>[[Toby Harnden|Harnden, Toby]]. ''Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh''. Coronet Books, 2000. pp. 343–344.</ref>

===Discovery===
[[File:Manchester 1996 explosion stills.jpg|thumb|right|200px|alt=Three photographs arranged one on top of the other, taken from the air. The first shows a white [[lorry]] parked outside a tall building. The second shows a sheet of flame, and the third, taken from further away than the first, shows a tall mushroom-shaped cloud rising into the sky above the surrounding buildings.|Stills taken from [[Greater Manchester Police#Air Support Unit|India 99]], a GMP helicopter, showing the Ford lorry moments before the blast, the explosion taking place, and the resulting mushroom cloud over the city, dwarfing the adjacent 23-storey high-rise, Arndale House]]

At about 9:20&nbsp;am on Saturday 15 June 1996, the Ford lorry was parked on Corporation Street, outside the [[Marks & Spencer]] store, near the [[Manchester Arndale|Arndale Centre]].<ref name="timeline"/> After setting the bomb's timer, two men—wearing hooded jackets, baseball caps and sunglasses—left the vehicle and walked to Cathedral Street, where a third man picked them up in a [[Ford Granada (Europe)|Ford Granada]] car,<ref name=harnden/> which was later abandoned in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]].<ref name="menjun16" /> The truck had been parked on [[double yellow lines]] with its [[Automotive lighting#Hazard warning signal|hazard lights]] flashing.<ref name="menjun16" /> Within three minutes a traffic warden had issued the vehicle with a parking ticket and called for its removal.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=5|ps=none}} At about 9:40&nbsp;am, [[Granada Studios]] on [[Quay Street]] received a telephone call claiming that there was a bomb at the corner of Corporation Street and Cannon Street and that it would explode in one hour. The caller had an [[Hiberno-English|Irish accent]] and gave an IRA codeword so that police would know the threat was genuine.<ref name="timeline"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Darnton |first=John |date=16 June 1996 |title=Bomb Believed Set by the I.R.A. Leaves 200 Hurt in British City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/16/world/bomb-believed-set-by-the-ira-leaves-200-hurt-in-british-city.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627073407/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/16/world/bomb-believed-set-by-the-ira-leaves-200-hurt-in-british-city.html |archive-date=27 June 2010 |access-date=9 September 2009 |work=[[The New York Times]] |mode=cs2}}</ref> Four other telephoned warnings were sent to television/radio stations, newspapers, and a hospital.<ref>Hylton, Stuart. ''A History of Manchester''. Phillimore, 2003. p.228</ref><ref>Staniforth, Andrew. ''The Routledge Companion to UK Counter Terrorism''. Routledge, 2012. p. 83.</ref>

The first policeman to arrive on the scene noticed wires running from the lorry's dashboard through a hole into the back and reported that he had found the bomb. Forensic experts later estimated that the bomb weighed 1,500–1,600&nbsp;kg (3,300–3,500&nbsp;lb)<ref>[[Andy Oppenheimer|Oppenheimer, A. R.]] ''IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity''. Irish Academic Press, 2009. p.131</ref> and was a mixture of [[semtex]], a military-grade [[plastic explosive]], and [[ANFO|ammonium nitrate fertiliser]],{{sfnp|Lesser|Hoffman|Arquilla|Ronfeldt|1999|p=29|ps=none}} a cheap and easily obtainable explosive used extensively by the IRA.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fleming |first=Nic |date=31 March 2004 |title=The Cheap and Easy Recipe for Bombs |publisher=Telegraph Media Group |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1458165/The-cheap-and-easy-recipe-for-bombs.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224153655/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1458165/The-cheap-and-easy-recipe-for-bombs.html |archive-date=24 December 2011 |mode=cs2}}</ref> Components of what may have been a [[Anti-handling device|tremble trigger]] were also found later, designed to detonate the bomb if it was tampered with.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=6|ps=none}}

===Evacuation===
At 10:00&nbsp;am, there were an estimated 75,000–80,000 people shopping and working in the vicinity. An evacuation of the area was undertaken by police officers from Bootle Street police station, supplemented by officers drafted into Manchester to control the football crowds. The police were helped by security guards from local shops.<ref name="timeline"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ball |first1=Graham |last2=Cusick |first2=James |last3=Routledge |first3=Paul |last4=Castle |first4=Stephen |date=16 June 1996 |title=IRA's message in blood |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/iras-message-in-blood-1337246.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110115311/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/iras-message-in-blood-1337246.html |archive-date=10 November 2012 |access-date=9 September 2009 |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |mode=cs2}}</ref>

One group worked to move people away from the bomb while another, assisted by firefighters and security guards, established a continuously expanding cordon around the area to prevent entry.<ref name="timeline"/>{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=9–10|ps=none}} By 11:10&nbsp;am, the cordon was at the greatest extent that available manpower would permit, about a quarter of a mile (400&nbsp;m) from the truck and {{convert|1.5|mi}} in circumference.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=11|ps=none}}

===Explosion===
The [[bomb disposal|bomb squad]] arrived from their [[Liverpool]] base at 10:46&nbsp;am and attempted to defuse the bomb using a remote-controlled device, but they were unable to defuse the bomb, resulting in the timer expiring and activating the device. The bomb exploded at 11:17&nbsp;am, causing an estimated £700&nbsp;million (£{{formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|700000000|1996|r=-8}}|0}} as of {{Inflation year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} of damage and affecting a third of the city centre's retail space. The Marks & Spencer's and the [[sky bridge]] connecting it to the Arndale Centre were destroyed, along with neighbouring buildings.<ref name="timeline"/> It was the largest peacetime bomb ever detonated in Great Britain,<ref name="context: a quest for real peace"/> and the blast created a [[mushroom cloud]] which rose 300 metres (1,000 feet) from the ground.<ref>Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). ''IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity''. Irish Academic Press, p. 132. {{ISBN|978-0-7165-2895-1}}</ref> The explosion could be heard up to {{convert|15|mi|km}} away and left a crater 15 metres wide.<ref name=menjun16/> Glass and masonry were thrown into the air, and behind the police cordon&nbsp;– up to {{cvt|1/2|mi|m}} away, people were showered by falling debris.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-manchester-bombing-device-was-as-big-as-anything-to-hit-mainland-britain-1337509.html |title=The Manchester Bombing: Device was 'as big as anything to hit mainland Britain' |last=Cusick |first=James |work=[[The Independent]] |date=17 June 1996 |access-date=10 September 2009 |location=London |archive-date=11 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411054042/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-manchester-bombing-device-was-as-big-as-anything-to-hit-mainland-britain-1337509.html |url-status=live}}</ref> There were no fatalities, but 212&nbsp;people were injured. A search of the area for casualties involved a brief confusion when [[mannequin]]s blasted out of shop windows were mistaken for bodies.<ref name="timeline" /> Hospitals across Greater Manchester were made ready to receive those injured in the blast.<ref name="timeline"/> The police commandeered a [[Manchester Metrolink|Metrolink]] tram to take 50 of the casualties to [[North Manchester General Hospital]], which treated 79 in total; a further 80 were cared for at the [[Manchester Royal Infirmary]], and many others were treated in the streets by ambulance crews assisted by doctors and nurses who happened to be in the city centre that morning.{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=21–22|ps=none}}

==Reaction==
[[File:John_Major,_October_2007.jpg|thumb|alt=John Major, Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the time of the bombing.|John Major, Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the time of the bombing]]

The bombing was condemned by British Prime Minister [[John Major]] and his government, by the opposition, and by individual members of parliament (MPs) as a "sickening", "callous" and "barbaric" terrorist attack.<ref>{{citation |title=Major blasts 'barbaric bombers' |work=[[Lancashire Evening Telegraph]] |date=17 June 1996 |url=http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/archive/1996/06/17/Lancashire+Archive/6203390.Major_blasts__barbaric_bombers_/ |access-date=24 December 2006 |archive-date=10 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610203508/http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/archive/1996/06/17/Lancashire+Archive/6203390.Major_blasts__barbaric_bombers_/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo960619/debtext/60619-38.htm House of Commons Hansard Debate for 19 Jun 1996 (pt. 38)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212201804/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo960619/debtext/60619-38.htm |date=12 February 2018 }}, publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved on 24 December 2006.</ref> Early on, Major stated that, "This explosion looks like the work of the IRA. It is the work of a few fanatics and&nbsp;... causes absolute revulsion in Ireland as it does here".<ref name="unite"/> Sinn Féin was criticised by [[Taoiseach]] [[John Bruton]] for being "struck mute" on the attack in the immediate aftermath. Bruton described the bombing as "a slap in the face to people who've been trying, against perhaps their better instincts, to give Sinn Féin a chance to show that they could persuade the IRA to reinstate the ceasefire".<ref name="unite">{{citation |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-manchester-bombing-london-and-dublin-unite-against-sinn-fein-1337508.html |title=The Manchester Bombing: London and Dublin unite against Sinn Féin |first1=Colin |last1=Brown |first2=David |last2=McKittrick |work=[[The Independent]] |date=17 June 1996 |access-date=8 September 2009 |archive-date=4 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104091016/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-manchester-bombing-london-and-dublin-unite-against-sinn-fein-1337508.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The President of the United States, [[Bill Clinton]], stated he was "deeply outraged by the bomb explosion" and joined Bruton and Major in "utterly condemning this brutal and cowardly act of terrorism".<ref>{{citation |journal=Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents |volume=32 |issue=5 |page=1064 |title=Statement on the Terrorist Attack in Manchester, United Kingdom |date=24 June 1996 |publisher=Government Printing Office |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-1996-06-24/html/WCPD-1996-06-24-Pg1064.htm |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210081936/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-1996-06-24/html/WCPD-1996-06-24-Pg1064.htm |archive-date=10 February 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Sinn Féin President, [[Gerry Adams]], stated that he was "shocked and saddened" by the bombing. He insisted that his party was committed to achieving a peace settlement and argued "it is sheer folly to return to the old agenda of excluding Sinn Féin and seeking to isolate republicans".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/peace-still-has-a-chance-says-adams-1337581.html |title=Peace still has a chance, says Adams |date=17 June 1996 |website=[[The Independent]] |access-date=14 June 2016 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=11 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811095905/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/peace-still-has-a-chance-says-adams-1337581.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 20 June 1996, the IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing, and stated that it "sincerely regretted" causing injury to civilians.<ref name="LA Times">{{citation |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-20-mn-16714-story.html |title=IRA Admits Manchester Bombing |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=20 June 1996 |access-date=8 September 2009 |archive-date=16 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916003400/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-06-20/news/mn-16714_1_manchester-bombing |url-status=live}}</ref> The IRA statement continued:
{{blockquote|The British Government has spent the last 22 months since August '94 trying to force the surrender of IRA weapons and the defeat of the republican struggle. We are still prepared to enhance the democratic peace process&nbsp;... but if there is to be a lasting peace&nbsp;... then the British Government must put the democratic rights of all of the people of Ireland before its own party political self interest.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/text-of-ira-s-statement-1.60042 |title=Text of IRA's statement |date=20 June 1996 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=14 June 2016 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207110440/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/text-of-ira-s-statement-1.60042 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The bombing came five days after the beginning of the peace talks in Belfast, and represented the IRA's opposition to talks which excluded republicans.<ref>McGladdery, Gary. ''The Provisional IRA in England''. Irish Academic Press, 2006. p.203</ref> The attack was part of a political strategy by the IRA to be included in negotiations on the IRA's own terms.<ref>Dingley, James. ''The IRA: The Irish Republican Army''. ABC-CLIO, 2012. p.137</ref> According to historian [[Richard English]]: "What they were doing with their return to bombings like the Manchester bomb was saying, 'We can still return to war if we want to. We can still put off a huge bomb in your cities and devastate them and therefore you have to deal with us{{' "}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2006/02/27/270206_manchester_bomb_english_interview_feature.shtml |title=Manchester bomb: no justice |date=15 June 2006 |website=[[BBC]] |access-date=14 June 2016 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=5 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505011541/http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2006/02/27/270206_manchester_bomb_english_interview_feature.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>

In an effort to allay fears that Manchester's considerable Irish community might be subjected to reprisal attacks, Councillors [[Richard Leese]] and Martin Pagel&nbsp;– leader and deputy leader of [[Manchester City Council]] respectively&nbsp;– made a public visit to the Irish World Heritage Centre in [[Cheetham Hill]]. There were ultimately only a few incidents, the most serious of which occurred on the evening of the bombing, when a gang of ten men rampaged through an Irish-themed bar in the centre of [[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]], shouting the [[Ulster loyalist]] slogan "No surrender" and smashing furniture and windows.{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=41–44|ps=none}} Seven days after the bombing, Manchester Council held a 'family fun day' in front of the [[Manchester Town Hall|Town Hall]] in [[Albert Square, Manchester|Albert Square]] to encourage shoppers and visitors back into the city centre, the first of a "series of events and entertainments". The Euro '96 football match between Russia and Germany at Old Trafford went ahead as planned the day following the bombing, after the stadium had been heavily guarded overnight and carefully searched; the game, which Germany won 3–0, was watched by a capacity crowd of 50,700.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=52|ps=none}}

==Investigation==
[[File:Traffic lights Manchester Bombing 1996.jpg|right|thumb|170px|A damaged traffic light that stood on the corner of the junction between Cross Street and [[Market Street, Manchester|Market Street]] at the time of the explosion, now in the [[Museum of Science and Industry (Manchester)|Museum of Science and Industry]]]]

In an effort to trace the route of the Ford lorry, police examined [[CCTV]] footage from every major road and motorway taken in England within two days of the bombing. Footage revealed that the lorry was driven south along the [[M1 motorway]] into London on the Friday afternoon before the attack. It was seen again heading north along the motorway at 7:40&nbsp;pm, accompanied by the Ford Granada. Detectives surmised that the lorry had been loaded with explosives in London and that the Granada was intended to be the getaway vehicle. The lorry was last recorded travelling east along the [[M62 motorway]] towards Manchester at 8:31&nbsp;am on the morning of the explosion.{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=65–66|ps=none}}

Police in Manchester were aware that their [[Metropolitan Police]] colleagues in London were investigating a suspected IRA unit based in the capital, and wondered whether the London unit was responsible for the Manchester bombing. On 15 July, Metropolitan police arrested six men suspected of IRA membership: Donal Gannon, John Crawley, Gerard Hanratty, Robert Morrow, Patrick Martin, and Francis Rafferty. Each was tried and convicted of "conspiracy to cause explosions at National Grid electricity stations", and sentenced to 35&nbsp;years in jail.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=67|ps=none}}<ref>{{citation |work=The Independent |title=IRA team who planned terror blitz on capital given 35 years |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ira-team-who-planned-terror-blitz-on-capital-given-35-years-1248661.html |first1=Michael |last1=Streeter |first2=Steve |last2=Boggan |date=3 July 1997 |access-date=6 March 2010 |archive-date=25 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625064801/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ira-team-who-planned-terror-blitz-on-capital-given-35-years-1248661.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Police in Manchester meanwhile worked to establish if the men were also responsible for the Manchester bomb.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=67|ps=none}}

Their investigation was led by Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Mutch of the GMP.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=163|ps=none}} The lorry's last registered owner told police that he had sold it to a dealer in [[Peterborough]], who had in turn sold the lorry on to a man calling himself Tom Fox, two weeks before the bombing. After the purchase price was delivered in cash by a taxi driver, the dealer was instructed to take the lorry to a nearby lorry park, and leave it there with the keys and documents hidden inside.

On checking records of telephone calls made to the dealer, the police found that some had been made from a mobile phone registered in Ireland, and on further checking the records of that phone it appeared that the calls were made from locations consistent with the known whereabouts of the Ford lorry. One call was to a known IRA member. The phone was last used at 9:23&nbsp;am on the morning of the bombing, just three minutes after the bombers had parked their lorry in Corporation Street. On 27 June, the phone's registered owner reported that it had been stolen 17&nbsp;days earlier, but the police felt they had gathered enough evidence to bring a prosecution against the six IRA men held in London.{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=67–69|ps=none}}

At a meeting attended by the commander of [[Special Branch#United Kingdom|Special Branch]] in Manchester, a GMP assistant chief constable and a "senior officer" from the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC), it was decided, for reasons never made public, not to present the findings of the investigation to the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (CPS), the body responsible for undertaking criminal prosecutions in England. The three may have felt that as the IRA suspects were already in police custody they were no longer a threat, or that to pursue the case against them may have jeopardised ongoing undercover operations. It was not until 1998 that the police finally sent their file to the CPS, who decided not to prosecute.{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=69–71|ps=none}}

In September 2022, a man was arrested in connection with the bombing. According to GMP, the suspect was held at [[Birmingham Airport]] on 8 September on suspicion of terrorism offences and was interviewed by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing for the North West, before being released without charge.<ref>{{cite news |title=Manchester IRA 1996 bomb: Man arrested at Birmingham Airport |date=9 September 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-62850703 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=9 September 2022 |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909122621/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-62850703 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Manchester IRA 1996 bomb: Man released after arrest |date=10 September 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-62862703 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 October 2023 |archive-date=15 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615095742/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-62862703 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Leak===
Early in 1999, Steve Panter, chief crime reporter for the ''[[Manchester Evening News]]'', leaked classified Special Branch documents naming those suspected of the bombing. The documents also revealed that the man suspected of organising the attack had visited Manchester shortly after the bombing and been under covert police surveillance as he toured the devastated city centre before returning to his home in [[County Armagh|South Armagh]].{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=163–164|ps=none}} Suspicion fell on Mutch as the source of the leaked documents after an analysis of mobile phone records placed both him and Panter at the same hotel in [[Skipton]], North Yorkshire, about {{convert|40|mi}} from Manchester on the same evening.{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=166–167|ps=none}}

On 21 April 1999, the ''Manchester Evening News'' named Declan McCann as "a prime suspect in the 1996 Manchester bomb plot".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Panter |first1=Steve |title=We name Manchester bomb suspect |work=[[Manchester Evening News]] |date=21 April 1999 |page=1 |quote=Tonight the M.E.N. names a prime suspect in the 1996 Manchester bomb plot. He is Declan McCann, aged 31, from Crossmaglen, South Armagh.}}</ref> McCann denied involvement in the bombing in a statement given by his solicitor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Manchester bombing suspect claims innocence |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0423/1416-manchester/ |website=[[RTÉ News]] |access-date=5 December 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241205121544/https://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0423/1416-manchester/ |archive-date=5 December 2024 |date=23 April 1999 |url-status=live}}</ref> The newspaper reported that the file sent by GMP to the Crown Prosecution Service contained the sentence: "It is the opinion of the investigating officers of GMP that there is sufficient evidence to charge [him] with being a party in a conspiracy to cause explosions in the United Kingdom."<ref>{{citation |title=Senior officers wanted the arrest of suspect |date=21 April 1999 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News}}</ref> The man denied any involvement.<ref name="MEN210599">{{citation |last=Craig |first=Ian |title=We named the right suspect&nbsp;– Why we didn't prosecute McCann, by attorney general |date=21 May 1999 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News}}</ref> The Attorney General wrote in a letter to a local MP that the advice given to the CPS by an independent lawyer was that "there was not a case to answer on the evidence available&nbsp;... a judge would stop the case": the Attorney General further wrote that the decision not to prosecute was not influenced by the government. The newspaper also identified the six men arrested in London on 15 July as having planned the attack.<ref>{{citation |title=Mobile phone calls that plotted a trail to terror |date=21 April 1999 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=How cash lost in post linked gang with bomb |last=Nott |first=Andrew |date=28 July 2000 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News}}</ref> By July 2000, all six had been released under the terms of the 1998 [[Belfast Agreement]].{{sfnp|Lester|Panter|2006|p=43|ps=none}}

Up until September 2022, Panter and Mutch were the only people to have been arrested in connection with the bombing. Mutch was tried for "misconduct in a public office" during an 11-day trial held in January 2002 but was acquitted. During the trial, Panter was found in [[contempt of court]] for refusing to reveal his source,{{sfnp|Lester|Panter|2006|pp=46–77|ps=none}} an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment without the right of appeal.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=171}} GMP announced in 2006 that there was no realistic chance of convicting those responsible for the bombing.<ref>{{citation |last=Atkins |first=Rebecca |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/5071916.stm |work=BBC News |title=Manchester bombers escape trial |date=15 June 2006 |access-date=27 April 2009 |archive-date=7 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060707010501/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5071916.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reconstruction==
About twelve buildings in the immediate vicinity of the explosion were severely damaged. Overall, {{convert|530000|sqft}} of retail space and {{convert|610000|sqft}} of office space were put out of use.<ref name="Williams 86">{{Harvnb|Williams|2003|pp=86–87}}</ref> Insurers paid out £411&nbsp;million (£{{formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|411000000|1996|r=-8}}|0}} as of {{inflation year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} in [[damages]] for what was at the time one of the most expensive man-made disasters ever,<ref>{{citation |first=Kim |last=Sengupata |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/pounds-411m-cost-after-manchester-bomb-sets-record-pounds-411m-1275416.html |title=£411m cost after Manchester bomb sets record |work=[[The Independent]] |date=28 March 1997 |access-date=3 October 2009 |archive-date=22 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522031850/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/pounds-411m-cost-after-manchester-bomb-sets-record-pounds-411m-1275416.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and there was considerable under-insurance.<ref name="Williams 86"/> Victims of the bombing received a total of £1,145,971 in compensation from the [[Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority]]; one individual received £146,524, the largest amount awarded as a result of this incident.<ref>{{citation |last=Rooth |first=Ben |title=IRA Bomb Victims Share GBP1M |date=14 June 2006 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=11244C1F6C558490&p_docnum=16&p_queryname=2 |access-date=2 March 2010}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

[[File:Manchester 1996 bomb epicentre.jpg|thumb|left|225px|Close to the location of the blast, 2009]]

According to [[Home Office]] statistics, an estimated 400&nbsp;businesses within half a mile (0.8&nbsp;km) of the blast were affected, 40% of which did not recover.<ref>{{citation |title=The cost of terrorism |work=[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]] |publisher=BBC News |date=15 May 2004 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/3704943.stm |access-date=10 September 2009 |archive-date=20 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420144645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/3704943.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> The heaviest damage was sustained by the three buildings nearest the bomb: Michael House, comprising a [[Marks & Spencer]] store and a six-storey office block; Longridge House, offices for [[RSA Insurance Group|Royal and Sun Alliance]], an insurance company; and the Arndale Centre, a shopping mall.<ref name="PB 256"/> Michael House was deemed beyond economic repair and demolished. Marks & Spencer took the opportunity to acquire and demolish the adjacent Longridge House, using the enlarged site for the world's biggest branch of the store.<ref name="Williams 86"/> The company's fortunes changed during construction, and [[Selfridges]] subsequently co-occupied the building;{{sfn|Williams|2003|pp=86–87, 183–7, 218|ps=none}} Marks & Spencer leased part of the [[Lewis's]] store in the interim.<ref name="PB 256">{{Harvnb|Parkinson-Bailey|2000|p=256}}</ref> The frontage of the Arndale was badly damaged and was remodelled when this area of the city centre was redeveloped.<ref name="Williams 86"/>

{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center |width=25em |quote=Coming to Manchester [after the bombing] was a journey I shall never forget. I sat on the train obviously deeply shocked and horrified. I knew that questions would be asked about what we were going to do; what is the right solution. Then I knew what the right solution was&nbsp;– to see this event, horrific as it was, as an opportunity and, no mucking about, we must do things on the grand scale and to the best quality we can.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=220|ps=none}}
|source=[[Michael Heseltine]], then–Deputy Prime Minister}}

The glass domes of the [[Corn Exchange, Manchester|Corn Exchange]] and the [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange]] were blown in. The landlord of the Corn Exchange invoked a ''[[force majeure]]'' condition in the lease to evict all tenants, and the building was converted into a shopping centre.{{sfnp|Parkinson-Bailey|2000|p=261|ps=none}} The dome of the Royal Exchange shifted in the blast; its reconstruction took two and a half years and cost £32&nbsp;million, paid for by the [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|National Lottery]].{{sfn|Parkinson-Bailey|2000|p=256|ps=none}}<ref>{{citation |title=Royal Exchange Manchester&nbsp;– Theatre History |url=http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/page.aspx?page=735 |work=[[Royal Exchange, Manchester]] |access-date=7 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003062654/http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/page.aspx?page=735 |archive-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>

The possibility of rebuilding parts of the city centre was raised within days of the bomb. On 26 June 1996, [[Michael Heseltine]], the Deputy Prime Minister, announced an international competition for designs of the redevelopment of the bomb-affected area. Bids were received from 27&nbsp;entrants, five of whom were invited to submit designs in a second round.{{sfn|King|2006|pp=129–30, 143|ps=none}} It was announced on 5 November 1996 that the winning design was by a consortium headed by EDAW.{{sfn|Williams|2003|p=108|ps=none}}

===Subsequent redevelopment===
[[File:Corporation Street bollards.jpg|thumb|right|New security safeguards were included in the redevelopment of the city centre including retractable bollards and pedestrianised streets.]]

Much of the 1960s redevelopment of Manchester's city centre was unpopular with residents. Market Street, near the explosion and at that time the second-busiest shopping street in the UK, was considered by some commentators a "fearful" place, to be "avoided like the plague".{{sfn|Parkinson-Bailey|2000|p=222|ps=none}} Until [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s third consecutive election victory in 1987, the staunchly [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour-controlled]] Manchester Council believed that Manchester's regeneration should be funded solely by public money, despite the government's insistence on only funding schemes with a significant element of private investment. [[Graham Stringer]], leader of Manchester City Council, later admitted that after the 1987 General Election result "there was no get out of jail card. We had gambled on Labour winning the General Election and we lost."{{sfn|King|2006|pp=84–85|ps=none}} Thatcher's victory effectively put paid to Manchester's "socialist experiment", and Stringer shortly afterwards wrote a letter of capitulation to [[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]], then [[Secretary of State for the Environment]], saying, "in a nutshell; OK, you win, we'd like to work together with you".{{sfn|King|2006|p=85|ps=none}}

Efforts at improvement before the bombing had in some respects made matters worse, cutting off the area north of the Arndale Centre&nbsp;– the exterior of which was widely unloved&nbsp;– from the rest of the city centre. A large building nearby, now redeveloped as [[The Printworks (Manchester)|The Printworks]] and formerly occupied by the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' newspaper, had been unoccupied since 1987.{{sfn|King|2006|p=181|ps=none}} Many locals therefore considered that "the bomb was the best thing that ever happened to Manchester",<ref>{{citation |last=Eaton |first=Andrew |title=City of Dreams |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=12 April 2008 |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=121E124FB7385E28&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=5 |access-date=2 March 2010}} {{subscription required}}</ref> as it cleared the way for redevelopment of the dysfunctional city centre, a view also expressed in 2007 by [[Terry Rooney (politician)|Terry Rooney]], MP for [[Bradford North (UK Parliament constituency)|Bradford North]]. The leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Manchester City Council, Simon Ashley, responded that "I take exception to his [Rooney's] comments about the IRA bomb. No one who was in the city on that day, who lost their jobs or was scared witless or injured by the blast, would say the bomb was the best thing to happen to Manchester".<ref name="Labour MP gaffe">{{citation |title=Labour MP in IRA bomb gaffe |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=15 March 2007 |access-date=2 March 2010 |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1001/1001912_labour_mp_in_ira_bomb_gaffe.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421064245/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1001/1001912_labour_mp_in_ira_bomb_gaffe.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013}}</ref> Sir [[Gerald Kaufman]], MP for [[Manchester Gorton (UK Parliament constituency)|Manchester Gorton]], stated that the bomb provided the opportunity for redeveloping Manchester city centre, although it was not fully exploited. "The bomb was obviously bad but from a redevelopment point of view, it was a lost opportunity. While the area around St Ann's Square and Deansgate is not disagreeable, if you compare it with Birmingham and its exciting development, we've got nothing to touch that in Manchester".<ref name="Labour MP gaffe"/> [[Howard Bernstein]], chief executive of [[Manchester City Council]], has been quoted as saying "people say the bomb turned out to be a great thing for Manchester. That's rubbish."{{sfn|Lester|Panter|2006|p=80|ps=none}} There was already substantial regeneration and redevelopment taking place in the city centre before the bombing, in support of the [[Manchester bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics]], its second Olympic bid. [[Tom Bloxham (property developer)|Tom Bloxham]], chairman of property development group [[Urban Splash]] and of the [[Arts Council England]] (North West), agreed with Bernstein that the bomb attack was not the trigger for the large-scale redevelopment that has taken place in Manchester since the early 1990s:

[[File:1996 Manchester Bombing mailbox.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Standard red UK pillar box|A [[pillar box]] that withstood the bomb blast. A memorial brass plaque commemorates the 1996 bomb.]]

{{Blockquote|For me the turning point for Manchester came before the bomb&nbsp;... it was the second Olympic Games bid [in 1992] when we lost but the city suddenly had a realisation. There was a huge party in Castlefield and people grasped the idea that Manchester should no longer consider itself in competition with the likes of [[Barnsley]] and [[Stockport]]. It was now up against Barcelona, Los Angeles and Sydney and its aspirations increased accordingly.{{sfnp|King|2006|p=218|ps=none}}}}

==Memorials and legacy==
A [[pillar box]] that survived the blast, despite being yards from the explosion, now carries a small brass plaque recording the bombing. It was removed during construction and redevelopment work, and returned to its original spot when Corporation Street reopened.{{sfnp|King|2006|pp=148–149|ps=none}} The plaque reads:

{{blockquote|{{center|This postbox remained standing almost undamaged on June 15th 1996 when this area was devastated by a bomb. The box was removed during the rebuilding of the city centre and was returned to its original site on<br>November 22nd 1999}}}}

A Thanksgiving service for the "Miracle of Manchester" was held at [[Manchester Cathedral]] on 24 July 2002, to coincide with the arrival of the [[2002 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]] baton, attended by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|The Duke of Edinburgh]]. At 11:17&nbsp;am on 15 June 2006, a candle was lit at a memorial held at [[Manchester Cathedral]] to mark the tenth anniversary of the bombing.<ref>{{citation |title=Memorial service marks 1996 bomb |work=BBC News |date=15 June 2006 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5083024.stm |access-date=18 December 2007 |archive-date=5 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005231825/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5083024.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

===In popular culture===
"One Man's Fool", the closing track on [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]]' 1997 album ''[[Calling All Stations]]'', was inspired by the bombing. [[Tony Banks (musician)|Tony Banks]] stated in a [[SongFacts]] interview:

{{Blockquote|text=I remember I wrote the song "One Man's Fool", which was on the Calling All Stations album [1997]. If anybody hears it now, they would assume that that lyric was referring to the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing|bombing of the Twin Towers]], but it wasn't. It was written four years before, and yet it sounds like we were recalling that. I was actually writing about a bomb attack in Manchester, in England, which was done by the IRA at the time, and the idea that people carry out these attacks and did they really believe that, all the destruction, that it really is worth it? But, it still works, unfortunately, because we have this kind of terrorism still out there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Songfacts |title=Tony Banks : Songwriter Interviews |url=https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/tony-banks |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709153254/https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/tony-banks |archive-date=9 July 2019 |access-date=24 January 2020 |website=www.songfacts.com}}</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Baltic Exchange bombing]]
* [[Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1990–99)|Timeline of Provisional IRA actions (1990s)]]
* [[List of terrorist incidents in 1996]]
* [[Manchester Arena bombing]]
* [[Oklahoma City bombing]]
* [[Timeline of the Northern Ireland Troubles]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Coogan |first=Tim |title=The IRA |year=2002 |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |isbn=0-312-29416-6}}
* {{citation |last=King |first=Ray |year=2006 |title=Detonation: Rebirth of a City |publisher=Clear Publications |isbn=0-9552621-0-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/detonationrebirt0000king}}
* {{citation |last1=Lesser |first1=Ian |last2=Hoffman |first2=Bruce |last3=Arquilla |first3=John |last4=Ronfeldt |first4=David |last5=Zanini |first5=Michele |year=1999 |title=Countering the New Terrorism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=685rPP7-BewC&q=3000%20bomb%20Manchester%20IRA&pg=PA29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207110500/https://books.google.com/books?id=685rPP7-BewC&q=3000+bomb+Manchester+IRA&pg=PA29 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |url-status=live |publisher=Rand |isbn=0-8330-2667-4 |access-date=21 July 2010}}
* {{citation |title=The Manchester Bomb |editor1-last=Lester |editor1-first=Sarah |editor2-last=Panter |editor2-first=Steve |year=2006 |publisher=Manchester Evening News |isbn=0-9549042-7-3}}
* {{citation |title=Manchester: An Architectural History |last=Parkinson-Bailey |first=John J. |year=2000 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=0-7190-5606-3}}
* {{citation |last=Williams |first=Gwyndaf |year=2003 |title=The Enterprising City Centre: Manchester's Development Challenge |publisher=Spon |isbn=0-415-25262-8}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |last1=Bartlett |first1=Thomas |last2=Jeffery |first2=Keith |year=1997 |title=A Military History of Ireland |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-62989-8 |ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|1996 Manchester bombing}}
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/15/newsid_2527000/2527009.stm BBC News report of the bombing]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/image_galleries/150606_manchester_bomb_gallery.shtml BBC image gallery related to the bombing]
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterfire/sets/72157645173763345 Flickr image gallery related to the bombing]
* [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-ira-bomb-incredible-pictures--10829485 ''Manchester Evening News'' image gallery related to the bombing]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20050713085604/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/buildings/bombing.html The Manchester Bombing]}}—A further report of the bombing
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141218165944/http://rebuildingmanchester.co.uk/ Rebuilding Manchester – Comprehensive online resource with over 1,000 photographs illustrating the rebuilding of Manchester City Centre]; prepared by Planning Consultant Euan Kellie

{{PIRA}}
{{The Troubles|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester bombing}}
[[Category:1990s in Manchester]]
[[Category:1996 building bombings]]
[[Category:1996 crimes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1996 in economic history]]
[[Category:1996 in England]]
[[Category:1996 in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Battles and conflicts without fatalities]]
[[Category:Building bombings in England]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in 1996]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in England]]
[[Category:Economic history of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Filmed improvised explosive device bombings]]
[[Category:June 1996 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Political violence in England]]
[[Category:Provisional IRA bombings in England]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Manchester]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1996]]