Since the beginning of its campaign in the early 1970s , the IRA had carried out many bomb attacks on military , political and commercial targets in England . By bombing commercial targets it sought to damage the economy and cause severe disruption , which it believed would put pressure on the British government to negotiate a withdrawal from Northern Ireland . In early 1993 the Northern Ireland peace process was at a delicate stage , with attempts to broker an IRA ceasefire ongoing . Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin and John Hume of the Social Democratic and Labour Party had been engaged in private dialogue since 1988 , with a view to establishing a broad Irish nationalist coalition . British Prime Minister John Major had refused to openly enter into talks with Sinn Féin until the IRA declared a ceasefire . The risk of an IRA attack on the City of London had increased due to the lack of progress with political talks , resulting in a warning being circulated to all police forces in Britain highlighting intelligence reports of a possible attack , as it was felt the IRA had enough personnel , equipment and funds to launch a sustained campaign in England . On 10 April 1992 the IRA detonated a truck bomb outside the Baltic Exchange on St. Mary Axe . The Baltic Exchange bombing caused £ 800 million worth of damage ( the equivalent of £ million in ) , £ 200 million more than the total damage caused by the 10,000 explosions that had occurred during the Troubles in Northern Ireland up to that point
Baltic Exchange bombing
Baltic Exchange bombing
1993 Bishopsgate bombing