| Hateland -
Articles |
04/07/00
- Getting into the mind of a maniac
South London Press
by Fergus Hewison
THE net was closing fast on nail bomber David Copeland
when his last and most deadly device exploded in Soho,
killing three people. Detectives were working flat-out
to catch the maniac, who had already brought terror to
Brixton and Brick Lane, and were given his name just hours
before the final, fatal blast.
The explosion claimed the lives of three friends: pregnant
Andrea Dykes, 27, John Light, 32, and Nick Moore, 31,
and injured 79 people. It was the culmination of a month
of terror in the capital. Here the South London Press
details the massive manhunt that led to Copeland's arrest
and conviction and explains how close detectives came
to catching him before the last bomb detonated.
After the explosion in Brixton on April 17, cops were
left grasping for theories as to why the bomb had been
planted. They did immediately consider a racist motive,
but discussed whether the bombing was related to the then
ongoing Kosovo conflict, a local drugs feud, or if it
had been planted by animal-rights extremists.
Within 48-hours of the blast, police received calls claiming
responsibility from people purporting to be from far rights
organisations. CCTV footage from Lambeth Council cameras
and local shops had been seized and a team of technicians
had began trawling through the film.
Within hours of the Brixton blast Lambeth's top cop, Chief
Supt Simon Foy, met members of Lambeth's Community Police
Consultative Group and local councillors. It was the start
of almost unprecedented co-operation which proved invaluable
in calming nerves and quashing potential hysteria.
On April 24, exactly one week after the Brixton bomb,
a reconstruction was held. Minutes later the second nail
bomb exploded in Brick Lane, east London. The bomb had
been placed in a black Reebok holdall with red webbing
handles and left by Copeland in Hanbury Street, near Brick
Lane. A member of the public found the bag and decided
to take it to local police.
He tried two local police stations but found they were
shut. The bomb exploded in the boot of his car at 5.58pm,
just as he was dialling 999 having become suspicious about
the bag. Thirteen people were injured. Forensic teams
descended on the scene and almost immediately discovered
flash powder burns similar to scorch marks discovered
after the Brixton explosion.
Cops began trying to trace retailers that sold the makes
of Reebok and Head sports bags used in the bombings and
quickly discovered that the chain Index stocked them.
Again CCTV footage was scrutinised, but at this stage
officers did not know exactly who they were looking for
By April 23, the day before the Brick Lane blast, officers
checking CCTV footage from Brixton, had what they believed
was an image of the bomber, but it was poor quality and
his face could riot been seen on it Some of this footage
was sent to labs across the UK and even the USA to be
enhanced.
Stills were then extracted which could be used and on
April 29 a major appeal was made using images of the bomber.
Officers from the National Intelligence Unit were by now
involved, plus the Met's anti-terrorist branch.
A press briefing was also held on April 29 and a senior
Scotland Yard source commented: I have to say the press
coverage we received was excellent' But by then Copeland
was doing reconnaissance for his next bombing. He knew
his pictures were being flashed across TV screens in the
UK, and his photograph had appeared in the press. He believed,
correctly, that it was only matter of time before he was
caught.
He went back to Cove after a reconnaissance of the next
target, in Soho, and then came back to London, checking
in to a bed and breakfast in Victoria under an assumed
name. He made the last and fatal bomb and then the next
morning, April 30, booked in to another B&B, again
under a false name, to add the finishing touches to the
device.
The Met's incident room by this time had taken around
500 phone calls and over 400 officers, many from specialist
units, were directly involved in the massive manhunt for
Copeland. At 10.25pm on Thursday, April 29, a cab driver
called the anti-terrorist hotline and said he thought
he recognised Copeland.
He said he had picked him up from Waterloo Station on
April 24 and taken him to the Brick Lane area. Immediately
CCTV footage from Waterloo was seized and scrutinised,
and cops saw on sections of it the image of Copeland whose
name was still unknown to them. By studying his movements
in the station and the platforms he used in Waterloo,
police worked out that Copeland was coming to London by
train from the Hampshire area.
This pinpointed that on April 24 he had arrived in Waterloo
Station at 4.20pm and that he left the same evening at
8.25pm, going back to Cove. At midday on April 30 the
Met's incident room received a fax from an organisation
whose identity police will still not reveal. This crucial
fax contained a list of 260 suspects known to have links
with the far right.
Some were listed only by their nicknames. This list included
members of Combat 18, the British National Party and other
far-right organisations. Copeland's name was on this list.
However, the address in Barking given for him was out
of date. He had moved four times since then.
At 5.25pm the incident room received a call from a person
who said they believed the nail bomber was Copeland This
person had worked with Copeland on the Jubilee Line extension.
Cops then knew the bomber's name, but did not know his
exact whereabouts. One hour later, at 6.25pm on April
30, the nail bomb exploded in the Admiral Duncan pub,
causing carnage and killing three people.
This time Copeland had planted the bomb using a Nike holdall,
also bought from an Index store, left in the pub. At 1am
on May 1, Copeland was arrested by Flying Squad officers
in his house in Sunnybank Road, Cove, where he had rented
a room for around three months. He then gave a full and
frank admission of his crimes to detectives. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
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