On 12 November 1975 , John Batey , aged 59 , was killed when an IRA bomb exploded in the restaurant . Fifteen others were wounded . In December 1975 , the IRA attacked the restaurant again , firing from a Ford Cortina as they drove past . The police had noticed that the IRA sometimes attacked the same location twice , and with little other intelligence to go on , had flooded London with plain clothes officers at vulnerable sites . Inspector John Purnell and Sergeant Phil McVeigh , who were both unarmed , were on the spot and were able to give chase in a London taxi despite several shots being fired at them . The terrorists were forced to abandon their car after driving into a cul-de-sac and continued on foot until they reached Balcombe Street where they barricaded themselves in a council flat with two hostages in what became known as the Balcombe Street siege
an IRA bomb exploded in the restaurant
Scott's Oyster Bar bombing
Scott's (restaurant)