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1972

January 22
Explosive letter sent to MP at House of Commons.
February 1
Rhodesia House in London firebombed.
February 3
Kirkgate, Huddersfield, Army Recruiting Office destroyed by firebombs.
February 17
Bonhill Street Social Security Office, London, firebombed. Liverpool Army HQ, Edge Lane, bombed. Severe damage.
February 22
Aldershot Paras HQ bombed -- 7 killed.
March 10
South African Airways, London, firebombed.
March 15
(Approx) Prison officer shot outside Wandsworth Prison.
March 20
Two shots fired through the front of the Army Recruiting Office, Slough, Bucks.
March
Four members of the Workers' Party of Scotland sentenced to a total of 81 years as a result of an expropriation carried out against the Bank of Scotland in June, 1971. The comrades, who defended their actions politically in court, were dealt the highest sentences ever by a Scottish court for robbery: William McPherson, 26 years, Matt Lygate, 25 years, and Ian Doran were virtually ignored by the revolutionary left.
March 30
Bomb containing 13 sticks of gelignite planted on railway line near Stranraer, Glasgow, used by the Army to transport men and equipment to ferry for N. Ireland.
April 6
2nd bomb (13 sticks) planted on rail link near Glasgow.
April 24
Homemade bomb planted at police headquarters at Sleaford, Lancs. 15 year old boy held.
April 26
Bomb blast and fire at Tory HQ, Billericay, Essex.
May 1
Explosion at CS gas factory.
May 30
Trial of `Stoke Newington Eight' accused of conspiracy to cause Angry Brigade bombings, begins in No 1 Court at the Old Bailey in London. This was to be the longest trial in the history of the British legal system.
Excerpt from a Stoke Newington Eight Defence Bulletin:
THE TRIAL SO FAR...

Has been four months of prosecution, four months of police witness after witness contradicting each other, changing their story, LYING, broken only for four weeks when the judge had his holiday...

A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE

The Press have reported nothing of all this -- just as they never reported the bombings until it suited them. What are they scared of?

WHAT CONSPIRACY?

The only concrete evidence is the guns and gelignite `found' by the police in the flat where 4 of the defendants lived. At first the police said that 2 of the 4 were there throughout the raid; then they admitted that at one point they were taken out of the flat then brought back. WHY? The fingerprint expert admitted that there were no prints on the guns and explosives. WHY NOT?

The prosecution's story changed from day to day. It emerged that the police would have fallen flat over the guns and gelly as they came into the flat if it had been where they said it was, instead of 'finding' it ten minutes later; so they suddenly `remembered' for the first time -- a year later -- that it had been covered with clothes.

POLICE CONSPIRACY

One detective was forced to admit that he had altered his notebook during the trial. Another gave the game away altogether when he said that he and a colleague sat down in the kitchen and `decided' what happened in the raid.

NO CONSPIRACY

The rest of the evidence against the eight is research, letter and articles written by the defendants for different underground papers (Frendz, Strike) and broadsheets. The prosecution call them proof of conspiracy because they mention such political targets as the Industrial Relations Act, Fair Rents Act, Miss World contest, etc.

Their scientific experts' tried to pin 25 of the bombings that took place in England between 1968 and 1971 on to these people, claiming that these bombings were `associated' -- disregarding other similar bombings and covering up the differences between the 25. But the explosions were claimed by groups as different as the 1st of May group, the Angry Brigade, The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And the `set' didn't include 3 claimed by the Angry Brigade AFTER Amhurst Road was raided.

Now the defence is beginning, the truth can come out: the only conspiracy there's been is a STATE CONSPIRACY.

Police explosives expert testifies that between March 1968 and August 1971 there had been 123 known attacks on property.
November 24
During his summing up Mr Justice James directed the jury to ignore the defence's protestations that it was a political trial. He said: "It is not (a political trial) and I direct you to have none of it. Political trials are trials of people for their political views. We do not have them in this country."
December 6
The trial ends. Jim Greenfield, Anna Mendleson, Hilary Creek and John Barker are sentenced to 10 years for `conspiracy to cause explosions'. The other four charged are acquitted, and the sentence of Jake Prescott is reduced to 10 years.
December 7
After the Angry Brigade sentences the previous day, Scotland Yard names two more people they want in connection with the bombings: Gerry Osner and Sarah Poulikakou, both living abroad at the time. 300 people marched in protest to Holloway Prison.

In all, 12 people were arrested and charged -- 2 had the charges against them withdrawn, 5 were acquitted, five were convicted and imprisoned for conspiracy.

Following the trial Commander Bond was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard. Det. Chief Superintendent Habershon was made Commander and seconded to the Home Office's Research and Planning Office in 1973. In June 1974 he headed the police investi- gation into the killing of Kevin Gateley, the Warwick Uni- versity student, in Red Lion Square on June 5th 1974 -- as a result of which the police were absolved of all respon- sibility. In April 1975 Commander Habershon was appoint- ed head of the Bomb Squad, replacing Robert Huntley.

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