2001 Birmingham bombing

There was a partial detonation of a car bomb in the city centre of Birmingham on Saturday 3 November 2001.

The RIRA gave a telephone warning before the device exploded outside a busy nightclub on Smallbrook Queensway, near the corner with Hurst Street and 250m south of New Street station - just 135 metres (443 ft) from the location of the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974.

[1] An officer from the West Midlands Police said the bomb, if fully detonated, could have caused a "very serious loss of life" on the busy road.

[2] The timing and location of the bombing (10:39 PM on a Saturday night outside a busy nightclub) were likely chosen to maximize damage to the public.

Noel Maguire, who the judge said played "a major part in the bombing conspiracy", was sentenced to 22 years.