A civil trial has commenced at the High Court in London, pitting three men injured in Provisional IRA bombings against former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams. The proceedings, which began on Monday at the Royal Courts of Justice, are expected to last seven days.

The claimants are Barry Laycock, who was injured in the 1996 Arndale shopping centre bombing in Manchester; John Clark, a victim of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing in London; and Jonathan Ganesh, who suffered injuries in the 1996 London Docklands bombing. Mr. Laycock, from West Yorkshire, sustained back and leg injuries when he was blown off his feet by the blast outside the Arndale on Corporation Street on June 15, 1996.

The Manchester bombing, described at the time as the UK mainland's largest bomb since World War Two, resulted in no fatalities but injured 212 people. It caused an estimated £700 million in damage, devastating large parts of the city and ultimately triggering one of the most ambitious urban regeneration projects of its time.

The three men allege that Mr. Adams was a leading member of the Provisional IRA, including its Army Council, during the dates of the bombings. They claim he "acted together with others in furtherance of a common design to bomb the British mainland" and was "directly responsible for and complicit" in decisions made by the Provisional IRA to place devices in 1973 and 1996. They are seeking just £1 in damages.

Mr. Adams vehemently denies any role in the Provisional IRA and is opposing the claim. His legal team, led by Edward Craven KC, argues that he "played an instrumental role in the peace process which culminated in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998." They also contest the claimants' ability to bring these claims decades after the expiry of the applicable limitation period, stating there was "no legal or practical reason why these claims could not have been issued long before 2022." Furthermore, they assert that the claims would inevitably fail on the merits, stressing that Mr. Adams has never been arrested on suspicion of, charged with, or convicted of any offence in connection with any of the bombings.

Anne Studd KC, representing the three men, asserted in court that Mr. Adams was "directly responsible for and complicit in those decisions made by that organisation to detonate bombs on the British mainland in 1973 and 1996." She challenged Mr. Adams' distinction between being a member of "the Army" and Sinn Fein, stating that "in reality, the evidence will demonstrate that this was not the clear either/or choice as the defendant would have you believe. For many individuals, we say, including Mr Adams, that was a distinction without a difference." Ms. Studd indicated that a "jigsaw" of evidence from those who knew Mr. Adams would prove the case, claiming that "none of these bombings in the United Kingdom mainland took place without the knowledge and agreement of the defendant in his role in the Provisional IRA and latterly as a member of the seven-man Army Council." She concluded by stating that while there is no doubt Mr. Adams contributed to the peace in Northern Ireland, the claimants say that on the evidence, he also contributed to the war.

The trial before Mr. Justice Swift includes two anonymous witnesses who will give evidence from behind a screen due to safety concerns. One witness reportedly believes "the Provisional IRA or people associated with it still exist" and fears danger as a result of the case increasing interest in these issues. Mr. Adams, aged 77, was pictured arriving at the High Court on Monday morning, wearing what appeared to be a bullet-proof vest, and is expected to give evidence in the claims on Friday, with the trial anticipated to conclude next week.