Gerry Adams says London Docklands bomb 'stunned' him

"That may well have heralded the end (of talks) but thankfully it didn't, we were resilient and we re-engaged. The government knee-jerked and wouldn't meet with us, and then agreed to meet at official level slowly."

"The IRA hadn't gone away at that stage, the IRA have thankfully gone away and that is the difference between that period and this period."

"This was a man in the crowd voicing his anger and I put the reply. Asked if he had known anything in advance about the attack would he have done anything, Adams said that was a hypothetical question as he didn't know about it."

Gerry Adams, 77, is facing a civil case in London brought by victims of three bombings in London and Manchester who seek to hold him personally liable for their injuries. The 1996 London Docklands bombing, carried out by the IRA, ended a ceasefire that had lasted since 1994. Adams testified that the bombing left him stunned and could have ended peace negotiations, but talks ultimately continued. He denied any involvement in the attacks and stated he held no rank or role in the IRA. Adams claimed he had no advance knowledge of the bombing and characterized his 1995 statement "they haven't gone away, you know" as expressing republican anger at British government refusal to engage with Sinn Féin.

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