IRA planned to completely knock out power supply in south east England, ex-member reveals

THE IRA planned to knock the entire power supply to the south east of England in a devastating bomb plot, an ex-member has revealed.

Former US marine John Crawley told the BBC that he was tasked with carrying out the audacious attack in the 1990s.

Crawley is one of the first-hand accounts in the final episode of the Beeb’s Spotlight on the Troubles: A Secret History.

In the show, the war between the IRA and the British intelligence is described by those who were on the front lines.

The Irish Republican Army embarked on a terrifying bombing campaign in 1996 after the UK government refused to allow Sinn Fein, the group’s political arm, to part in peace talks.

Despite the IRA bombing Manchester city centre and Canary Wharf that year – the series reveals how other plots were foiled by police and MI5.