Bomb found in luggage hold on a bus near Dublin ahead of Queen's historic Irish visit

By Daily Mail Reporters

Last updated at 7:44 AM on 17th May 2011

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• Threat to capital 'not specific to time or place', Scotland Yard says
• Biggest ever security operation in Republic of Ireland ahead of royal visit
• Bomb caller used a known Republican codeword

Bomb disposal experts this morning made safe a 'viable' improvised explosive device in Maynooth near Dublin, the Irish Army said today.

The bomb was discovered in the luggage compartment of a bus on the outskirts of the Co Kildare town. A controlled explosion was carried out in the early hours of this morning.

An army spokesman said: 'An army bomb disposal team made safe a viable improvised explosive device overnight in Maynooth, Co Kildare.'

Members of the Irish Republican Group Eirigi protest yesterday about the Queen's first ever visit to Ireland

Precautions: Members of the public walk past phone boxes taped shut for security reasons by police ahead of the Queen's state visit to Ireland

The bomb disposal team arrived at 11.10pm last night and the explosives were declared safe at 1.55am. The remains of the device have been handed to the Irish police for investigation.

The bomb was found as a massive security operation got underway in Dublin ahead of the Queen's arrival today.

Royal visit: The Queen is due to make a historic visit to Ireland today

Police are patrolling the streets, parking has been forbidden in many areas as large parts of the city are closed off over security fears.

Yesterday there was a coded bomb warning stoking fears that Irish dissidents are preparing to mark the Queen’s State visit to Ireland with an attack on the British mainland.

Security services in both countries were on high alert after Irish republican terrorists used a recognised code word in a warning message to Scotland Yard.

The ambiguous threat did not specify a location or time but sparked several operations during a tense day in central London. Officials said the message, made from a telephone in the Irish Republic on Sunday night, was the first coded warning in Britain for at least ten years.

A swathe of the capital between Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square was shut down for almost eight hours as jittery police dealt with a series of suspicious incidents. Former security minister Lord West said the latest bomb warning was ‘extremely worrying’ and warned that security officials were aware of ‘sleeper cells’ who want to mount fresh attacks.

He said: ‘We know very well that a tiny number of dissidents are absolutely obsessed with trying to revert to the bloodshed, mayhem and blood massacres of the past.

‘They are wrong. The bulk of Irish people do not want that.’

Security sources have repeatedly warned that dissidents ‘aspire’ to mounting a bloody attack and the threat level was raised to ‘substantial’ last year.

There are concerns a massive lockdown in Dublin ahead of the Queen’s arrival today could force extremists to seek ‘softer’ targets.

This message has been daubed on a wall in the centre of Dublin ahead of the Queen's visit to the Irish capital scheduled for today

Crackdown: Officers from the Irish Police force in Dublin yesterday question a group of people with posters proclaiming their opposition to the Royal visit

Police close off The Mall today as a call from dissident Republicans sparked a central London security alert

The city was at the centre of the biggest security operation in the Irish Republic’s history as the Queen’s four-day state visit gets under way.

More than 8,000 Irish police and 2,000 troops will be deployed in a £26million operation amid fears republican groups will try to make political capital from the trip.

BOMB THREAT 'NOT SPECIFIC TO TIME OR PLACE'

The full Metropolitan Police statement:

'A bomb threat warning has been received relating to central London today. The threat is not specific in relation to location or time.

'The Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police and British Transport Police are working closely together and all officers have been advised to be highly vigilant to ensure the safety of London.

'Policing operations and contingency planning remain under constant review and a wide range of overt and covert tactics will continue to be used in London.

'At this time Londoners should continue to go about their business as usual but we encourage the public to remain vigilant and report any information about unusual activity or behaviour which may be terrorist-related to the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 .

'In the event of an emergency always dial 999.

'The threat level from Irish-related terrorism has not increased and remains at substantial, meaning that an attack is a strong possibility. The threat level was raised in September 2010 from moderate to substantial.

'This is lower than the overall threat to the UK from international terrorism which remains at severe.'

Some groups have been angered by the Queen’s itinerary which includes a wreath-laying ceremony today at Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance, which honours all those who fought for Irish freedom, and a visit to Croke Park, scene of a massacre in 1920.

The Queen will be protected by 120 armed British police officers as she becomes the first British monarch to visit southern Ireland since King George V in 1911.

Last night 500 troops created a secure ring around Baldonnel Fortress, the military aerodrome where the Queen is due to arrive today. And a Giraffe air defence system – used to detect low-altitude aircraft targets – is on standby to protect Farmleigh, the country estate where the Queen is staying.

Last month the Real IRA said the Queen was ‘wanted for war crimes’ and called on ‘all self-respecting Irishmen and women’ to resist the ‘insult’ of her visit.

In London yesterday, police and the public were warned to be ‘extra vigilant’ as officers dealt with two security alerts.

Outside Buckingham Palace, the Mall and several other roads were closed for several hours as officers investigated fears a manhole cover had been tampered with.

Police investigating a suspected break-in in the early hours reported that the large padlocked grate near St James’s Palace may have been moved.

Dogs trained to detect explosives and officers trained in searching confined spaces were lowered into the Victorian sewer network.

A short distance away, bomb disposal officers were called to a West End hotel after baggage was abandoned on the pavement outside.

A remote-controlled robot was used to stage a controlled explosion and destroy an empty black suitcase on Northumberland Avenue.

Sewer search: Investigators were checking drains on The Mall yesterday in central London after the IRA bomb call sparked a massive terror alert

Enlarge

A bomb disposal robot was used after police closed off Northumberland Avenue and surrounding areas in Central London after a disturbed manhole cover was discovered in the road

The Metropolitan Police said the threat level from Irish-related terrorism remained at ‘substantial’, meaning an attack is a strong possibility.

Security expert Crispin Black said the Queen's historic visit to Ireland has caused widespread anger among Republican extremist groups.

Mr Black, a Sandhurst-trained Falklands veteran, said that the alert could have been extremists showing that they 'are still there'.

He said dissident Republicans were 'extremely angry' about the Queen's visit and added: 'It is their way of showing that they are in a position to make these visits more difficult.

High security: Large parts of central London were cordoned off after the bomb warning

'From what I have seen going on in Dublin it is going to be quite difficult to do anything there - it has been locked down.

'Maybe they decided that Dublin was too difficult so they decided to do something in London just to show that they are still there.'

Mr Black was reluctant to speculate about which group may have been behind the call, but added: 'It has always been a test of the IRA's English department.

'If you can take the British at their own headquarters that can give a status boost and have a greater impact than on home turf. I gather there were great concerns that something would happen around the Royal Wedding.

'But now with the Queen arriving in Ireland it would be an appropriate time, if not to carry out an attack, then just to show people that they are still there.'

Bomb found in luggage hold on a bus near Dublin ahead of Queen's historic Irish visit

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