Talk:Ian Gow

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[edit] doubtful circumstances

Vintagekits. Both bombings were "suspicious". In the case of Neave the explosion happened in the car park of the Houses of Parliament, which was very securely guarded. Gow's house at Hankham was a veritable fortress (press reports notwithstanding). In both cases the bombs must have had very sophisticated triggering devices and there is doubt over whether such devices were directly available to paramilitaries. Thus the suspicion that some third party was involved.Izzy 16:18, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Didnt the IRA claim responibility or was anyone prosecuted?--Vintagekits 16:20, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Vintagekits. Paramilitaries did claim responsibility in both cases, but as far as I am aware nobody was ever prosecuted. It is believed that paramilitaries did sometimes act as proxies for third parties in getting rid of awkward people. I guess the truth of the matter will never be known. Izzy 16:31, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] bomb technology

If I may chip in on this discussion. The Neave bomb (1979) was always a questionable case. The bomb went off as Neave's car was leaving the MP's car park at Parliament. It actually detonated as the car went onto the upward ramp so people have always assumed that the bomb was planted in the car anything up to 24 hours before it went off and was fitted with both time and tilt switches. Given that Neave was very security conscious and checked his car for bombs, the whole bombing operation was pretty sophisticated. The INLA were a rough and ready lot, and it is doubtful they would have been capable of this - without assistance.

The Gow bomb was also questionable. Gow's house at Hankham was built like a fortress with fences, gates and alarm systems. Again, the bomb was probably planted in the car anything up to 24 hours before it went off. It detonated as he put the car into reverse gear. This suggests that the bomb was fitted with both time and some other switch. Gow was very security conscious, so this must have been a very smart operation. PIRA were more capable than INLA, but even so .... . There have always been doubts about who was ultimately behind these bombings. Izzy 14:16, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

The IRA has an extremely sophisticated bomb making operation (source:Toby Harndon amongst others). I don't think this incident is indicative of any outside help? If you have a source for any such allegations, it would be interesting. (Nice work on this article Izzy by the way) Kernel Saunters 15:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)