Hyde Park bomb amnesty was a dreadful mistake says Cameron

Cars removed from the scene of the Hyde Park car bomb in which four soldiers died, 1982

Chief constable Matt Baggott said: “I wish to apologise to the families of the victims and survivors of the Hyde Park atrocity. I deeply regret these failings, which should not have happened.

“We are currently carrying out a check of these cases to ensure the accuracy of information processed by the PSNI.”

The case collapsed after it emerged the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) knew about a UK arrest warrant issued for the suspect John Downey shortly after the bombing but did nothing to correct the error of 2007 when he was given assurance he would not be prosecuted.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has said police in Northern Ireland should reflect on “the serious error”.

Downey was being prosecuted in connection with a car bomb left in South Carriage Drive which killed four soldiers on 20 July 1982 as they rode through Hyde Park in central London to the changing of the guard.

The explosion killed Roy Bright, Dennis Daly, Simon Tipper and Jeffrey Young and injured other members of the Royal Household Cavalry. Seven horses were also killed as the soldiers travelled from their barracks to Buckingham Palace. Another horse, Sefton, survived terrible injuries and became a national hero.

The investigation into the bombing led police to Downey, through fingerprints on parking tickets and a description given by witnesses of two men carrying out reconnaissance in the area before the attack.

An arrest warrant was issued, but it was decided not to seek Downey’s extradition from the Irish Republic in 1989, in part due to the lack of strong evidence against him.

Then in 2007, Downey – who was convicted of being an IRA member in 1974 – received assurance he was not at risk of prosecution as part of a scheme run by the Northern Ireland police.

He was one of 187 On the Runs (OTRs) to seek clarification from the authorities in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement.

In a statement, relatives of the four soldiers killed said: “This news has left us all feeling devastatingly let down, even more so when the monumental blunder behind this judgment lies at the feet of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

“The end result is that the opportunity for the full chain of those terrible events will never be put in the public domain for justice to be seen to be done.”

“The families now seek a degree of accountability for this catastrophic failure.”

But Sinn Fein’s Francie Molloy welcomed the judge’s decision.

The MP for Mid Ulster said it was a “good decision” to throw out Downey’s case and the decision he was expecting.

“John Downey should never have been arrested,” he said, because of the Good Friday Agreement.

Mrs Villiers said the Government does not support amnesties for people wanted in connection with terrorist offences.

She added: “The Government is looking carefully at the judgment of the court, and we are working with the police to identify whether there are other cases similar to that of Mr Downey. It is right that time is taken to consider the full implications of this judgement.”

Ms Villiers said the Government believed in upholding the rule of law.

Peter Hain, who was Northern Secretary between 2005 and 2007, said that while he understood the anger of the families, the arrangement for dealing with the On-the-Runs had been an essential part of the peace process.

“You often get this at the end of wars and conflicts. You often get what seem to be unseemly processes in order to end the violence and stop them happening again,” he said.