1999 London nail bombings

1999 London bombings
1999 London nail bombings is located in Greater London
Brixton
Brixton
Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Soho
Soho
1999 London nail bombings (Greater London)
1999 London nail bombings is located in the United Kingdom
1999 London nail bombings
Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Soho
Soho
1999 London nail bombings (the United Kingdom)
LocationLondon, England
Date17 April 1999 (1999-04-17)
30 April 1999 (1999-04-30)
TargetBlack British, British Bengali and LGBT populations in London
Attack type
White supremacist terrorism, bombings, murder
WeaponsNail bomb
Deaths4 (including an unborn baby)
Injured140
Victims
  • Andrea Dykes, 27
  • Nik Moore, 31
  • John Light, 32
  • Unnamed unborn baby, 4 months old
MotiveNeo-Nazism / Attempt to start a race war in England

The 1999 London nail bombings were a series of bomb explosions in London, England. Over three successive weekends between 17 and 30 April 1999, homemade nail bombs were detonated in Brixton in South London; at Brick Lane, Spitalfields, in the East End; and at the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho in the West End. Each bomb contained up to 1,500 100 mm nails, in duffel bags that were left in public spaces. The bombs killed three people and injured 140 people, four of whom lost limbs.

On 2 May 1999, the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch charged 22-year-old David Copeland with murder. Copeland, who became known as the "London nail bomber", was a Neo-Nazi militant and a former member of two political groups, the British National Party and then the National Socialist Movement. The bombings were aimed at London's black, Bengali, and LGBT communities.[1] Copeland was convicted of murder in 2000 and given six life sentences.[1]

  1. ^ a b Buncombe, Andrew; Judd, Terri; and Bennett, Jason. "'Hate-filled' nailbomber is jailed for life", The Independent, 30 June 2000.