Four soldiers and seven cavalry horses were killed in the attack
THE Sun today backs a fighting fund to help families of the Hyde Park bomb victims win justice at long last.
Four soldiers and seven cavalry horses were killed in the 1982 IRA attack — but the trial of suspect John Downey collapsed due to official blunders.
We want readers to help the families fund a civil court action against Downey, so he finally faces up to his crime.
Two family members of the Hyde Park IRA bomb victims yesterday begged Sun readers to help them bring the man responsible for the atrocity to justice.
Sarahjane Young and Mark Tipper need to raise £650,000 for a civil action against prime suspect John Downey.
He walked free three years ago after his trial collapsed when it was revealed bungling officials had wrongly promised him immunity from criminal prosecution.
Mark, whose brother Simon, 19, was one of four soldiers killed in the 1982 blast, said: “If we can get this man before the courts in some way, it will show the public at least still believes in justice.
“We’ve been let down again and again by the authorities over the past 35 years and, if I’m honest, at times we’ve almost given up hope.
“They talk a good fight down in Westminster — but the British people put up the best fight of all.
“The lads who died were willing to put their own lives on the line for the country they loved. We just want to get justice for them, no matter how long that takes.”
Mark appealed to Sun readers to donate to the campaign fund — saying that even the smallest amount could help to bring justice that has been denied for so long.
He said: “We’d be so grateful for any support we can get. Even if a fraction of The Sun’s readers donated a pound each, we’d reach our target in a few days.”
Sarahjane, who was four when she watched from a barracks’ nursery window as dad Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young was killed by the bomb, filed the civil claim against Downey, 65, in February.
But they need to raise £650,000 after being denied legal aid — a decision that caused an outcry.
Critics pointed out that UK taxpayers had paid £195million to fund the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
YOU can back the Hyde Park Justice Campaign in several ways.
Credit or debit card donations can be given at .
You can donate online using these bank details: Sort code 18-00-02, and account number 04507118.
You could also go to your own bank with the details.
Donors can also send cash or cheques to: Hyde Park Justice Campaign, Fourth Floor, 158 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TR. Any money left over will be donated to other legal actions for serving members of the Armed Forces or victims of terrorism and their families.
The Hyde Park blast on 20 July was one of the IRA’s most infamous attacks.
A nail bomb hidden in a car was detonated remotely as Blues and Royals cavalrymen passed on their way to Changing of the Guard.
Trooper Tipper, Lance Corporal Young, 19, and Lieutenant Anthony Daly, 23, were killed instantly.
Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright, 36, died from his injuries four days later.
Seven cavalry horses were also killed and 31 people injured.
A second attack about two hours later in Regents Park killed seven bandsmen from the Royal Green Jackets.
The evidence against Downey for the Hyde Park bombing is compelling.
His fingerprints were found on two parking tickets bought for the Morris Marina used for the 25lb bomb.
One ticket was for a central London car park two days before the attack.
The second was for the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, a mile from Hyde Park, just four hours before the blast
FAMILIES of the 1998 Omagh bombing have already successfully used the civil courts to pursue justice.
The blast claimed 29 victims and unborn twins in one of the most devastating terrorist attacks of the past 20 years.
In 2004, families launched a civil claim against four members of the Real IRA.
Like Sarahjane, the families had been told they would not get legal aid — only to finally be awarded it after a long-running campaign.
Once in court four defendants, including RIRA god- father Michael McKevitt and right-hand man Liam Campbell, were ordered to pay £1.6million in damages.
McKevitt and Campbell later appealed unsuccessfully.
The families have yet to receive a penny of the damages but their lawyers are currently seeking the money through the Irish courts.
Downey’s appearance also matched photofits created from witness accounts.
In May 2013, Downey, a convicted IRA member from Donegal, was arrested at Gatwick Airport.
He was due to stand trial at the Old Bailey the following February.
But the trial collapsed when it was revealed he had wrongly received a so-called “comfort letter” — sent to 222 on-the-run terror suspects saying they were not wanted by police.
The letters were issued in a secret deal between Tony Blair’s government and IRA leaders as part of the Good Friday Agreement.
Blair later admitted the letters, issued to stop the IRA walking away from peace negotiations, had been a “catastrophic error.”
Mum-of two Sarahjane, 39, and Mark, 57, say the legal action is purely about winning the right to identify Downey as the bomber.
Any damages they get will be given to veterans’ charities.
A huge police investigation was launched in the wake of the Hyde Park bombing.
Then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher promised: “We shan’t rest until we bring these men to justice.”
But almost 35 years on not a single conviction stands.
In 1987, electronics engineer Gilbert “Danny” McNamee was found guilty of building the Hyde Park bomb.
He was jailed for 25 years, but overturned the conviction on appeal in 1998 when judges ruled it was unsafe.
Even then, the Court of Appeal had warned: “It does not follow this appellant is innocent.”
Downey yesterday refused to comment at his home in Creeslough, Donegal.
Matthew Jury of McCue and Partners, who is representing the Hyde Park families, said: “The families have been made victims three times over.
“First by the bombers when they murdered their loved ones.
“Then by the shameful secret deal struck between Blair and the IRA that let Downey walk free.
“Finally, by the State’s refusal to make amends and support their action to bring him back to court.
“The terrorist attack on Hyde Park was one of the worst on UK soil and the collapse of Downey’s trial arguably one of the gravest injustices to shame our country.
“If we don’t put this right, not only are we failing every victim and survivor of terrorism but the message we are sending is that you can bomb our capital, murder our troops and innocent civilians and live out your days with impunity. That cannot stand.”
The Sun stands with the families and supports their campaign.
Today we ask you to do the same.
THE comfort letter blunder means there is no realistic chance of Downey facing criminal proceedings again — but the families can confront him in the civil courts.
Sarahjane Young’s High Court writ demands compensation from Downey for causing her personal injury as a result of the bombing, and seeks “aggravated and exemplary damages”.
It accuses him of trespass to the person, intentional infliction of harm and conspiracy to injure.
The writ says Sarahjane hopes to recover damages of more than £150,000 in total from Downey.
Both Sarahjane and Mark Tipper say the case is about principle, not punishment.
They are determined to win the right to call Downey a “murderer” in court.
A civil hearing would be in front of a senior judge at London’s High Court who would make a ruling.
There would be no jury.
Unlike criminal courts, where a verdict delivered by a jury must be “beyond reasonable doubt”, the civil court threshold is on the lesser “balance of probabilities”.
If the families were to win their claim, it would mean they could pursue Downey for damages.
In theory he could appear in person to give evidence rejecting the claims, but he is unlikely to visit mainland Britain again.
By TOM WELLS & BEN LEO
ONE survivor of the Hyde Park attack was Trooper Michael Pedersen, whose horse Sefton also amazingly pulled through despite 34 shrapnel wounds.
Cavalryman Michael and his brown Irish gelding mount quickly became national heroes as a result.
Many saw the pair as symbols of Britain’s proud refusal to be cowed in the wake of the IRA’s evil campaign.
But in 2012, three decades after the atrocity, the terror finally told.
Almost certainly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his memories of the bombing, Michael’s life fell apart.
Banned from his family home after attacking his wife, he was allowed a visit from son Ben, seven, and daughter Freya, six.
Alone with his children, he set upon them, fatally stabbing them before knifing himself in the heart.
Their three bodies were found close together on a remote bridge in Hampshire.
A coroner would later describe the murder-suicide as “beyond comprehension”.
The Pedersens are perhaps the starkest example of how the 1982 atrocity continues to claim new, innocent victims.
Yet those left behind still bravely cling on to the belief they will one day get the justice their loved ones so obviously deserve.
Sefton suffered a severed jugular vein but recovered following eight hours of surgery.
He returned to duties with his regiment and was crowned Horse of the Year in 1982.
The horse, who captured the hearts of the nation, lived until 1992, when he was put down aged 30.
YOU can back the Hyde Park Justice Campaign in several ways.
Credit or debit card donations can be given at .
You can donate online using these bank details: Sort code 18-00-02, and account number 04507118.
You could also go to your own bank with the details.
Donors can also send cash or cheques to: Hyde Park Justice Campaign, Fourth Floor, 158 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TR. Any money left over will be donated to other legal actions for serving members of the Armed Forces or victims of terrorism and their families.
