Two admit Real IRA bomb plot

James McCormack, 34 and John Hannan, 19, have pleaded guilty to causing explosions between 1 January and 15 November, 2001, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

Three other men suspected of belonging to the Real IRA - Robert Hulme, 23, his brother Aiden Hulme, 26, and Noel Maguire, 34 - deny conspiracy to cause a series of explosions.

It is alleged they were involved in plotting a car bomb attack at BBC’s Television Centre in west London on 3 March, another in Ealing, west London, on 3 August and a third in Birmingham on 3 November.

Robert Hulme and Maguire also deny possessing explosive substances and a firearm with intent to endanger life, all dating from 14 November, 2001.

Orlando Pownall QC, prosecuting, said the defendants were allegedly involved with other people in a Real IRA cell in conspiring to plan a bombing campaign in England.

All the car bombs were made of home-made explosives with similar timing devices, he said.

"The same code word was used," he said. "There can be no dispute that those responsible intended to endanger life or cause serious damage to property."

In the BBC and Ealing bombs, property had been damaged. Mr Pownall said: "You may feel having heard the evidence that it was nothing short of a miracle that no pedestrians or people in houses nearby did not suffer fatal injuries."

In Birmingham a few months later, it was fortunate the bomb had failed to detonate as it had been placed in a car boot near pubs and clubs on a Saturday evening, he said.

While there was no evidence the men had actually planted the bombs, there was evidence they were involved in the planning, the court heard. There was also evidence Robert Hulme and Maguire were in possession of a hand grenade, a Smith and Wesson revolver and live and spent ammunition found in a car parked outside a Yorkshire farmhouse, Mr Pownall said.

They were also in possession of a home-made timing device similar to that used in the Birmingham bomb.

A mobile phone had been found by police at Maguire’s home in Colindale, north London. Mr Pownall said Maguire’s fingerprints were found on money used to buy a taxi cab from a yard in Edmonton, north London, that was subsequently used for the BBC bomb.

The jury was shown CCTV footage showing the cab en route along the North Circular Road to White City on the morning of the bombing.

Calls were made between two mobiles after the cab was bought and up until 30 minutes before the car was planted outside the BBC in Wood Lane.

A piece of paper with one of the numbers on and the initials BD was found in a pub near where the car was bought. Maguire, who can neither read nor write, is nicknamed "brain dead", the court heard. The same number was found in a mobile phone during a search of Maguire’s home.

Shortly before the BBC bomb exploded, a receptionist at the London Bridge Hospital received a call from a man with an Irish accent, the court heard. The man said: "This is an important message. Get a piece of paper and a pen. There is a maroon taxi parked outside the BBC Wood Lane. There is a bomb in it to go off in minutes."

The man then gave a code word which was recognisable to police. "It was first given in response to a device which was identified or detected in June 2000 as result of a bomb in Dundalk," said Mr Pownall.

A similar warning was received by a woman working for the Samaritans that night.

Neither McCormack nor Hannan, who will be sentenced at a later date, were in court.

The trial is expected to last more than two months.