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| Your Wealth at Risk |
Triumph Over Terror
John Ferry
03/01/2005
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Walking around the City today, one still sees the same international banking marques—JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and others—that were doing business there during the IRA’s bombing campaign. “Overall, the huge size of the UK economy meant [the bombings] were not a significant factor in terms of scaring away companies or affecting the stock market,” says St. Andrews’ Wilkinson. “Certainly there were the costs of clearing up and of rebuilding, but they were not significant enough to have an effect on the overall economic figures for the United Kingdom.  The fact that the protracted campaign of financial terrorism was relatively short certainly cushioned the economic effect of IRA activities. If the group had been detonating explosive devices in the City since the early 1980s, then things might have been different. The effective response to the threat from the police, Security Service (MI5) and the Corporation of London also lessened the brunt of the IRA’s blows, and kept businesses steadfast in the Square Mile. “In 1992, the then home secretary brought in a measure that made MI5 responsible for leading in the intelligence effort against the IRA,” Wilkinson says. “That was a big change on the mainland. The police had been overstretched in the earlier period because they had so much to do—they were really concentrating on the handling of specific incidents.” (Click image to enlarge)
Illustration by Viktor Koen.
Graphs 1, 2, and 3 by Economist Intelligence Unit.
John Ferry, a journalist based in Edinburgh, Scotland, specializes in financial markets and investments. john.ferry@blueyonder.co.uk
Additional Information
 Economic Terrorism: A European Tradition
Northern Ireland's Troubled Economy
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