A BUSINESSMAN accused of involvement in an IRA plot to bomb power stations admitted he had been "very naive" in his dealings with a known terrorist, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.
In his police interview read to the jury, Mr Clive Brampton (36) said he knew a man called "Burke" was an IRA member but decided to help him because he owed him a "favour".
The prosecution alleges that Burke was an alias used by one of his codefendants, who wanted Mr Brampton to find a premises in Birmingham where a lorry could be unloaded "in secret".
It is alleged that Mr Brampton, from Bromford Bridge, Birmingham provided "support" to seven alleged IRA men who are in the dock with him.
Mr Brampton and his seven codefendants deny conspiring to cause explosions likely to endanger life or property between January 1st and July 16th last year.
The court heard that last summer the IRA was within days of realising its plot to take out the national grid and black out London and south east England.
The conspirators were targeting each of the six sub stations operated by the national grid around London, it was alleged.
But unknown to the plotters, secret service agents with the Metropolitan and West Midlands Police forces had launched a huge surveillance operation to track their movements.
During dawn raids in south London and Birmingham on July 5th last year police arrested the eight defendants and went on to find 37 primed bombs ready to be packed with Semtex.
The case continues.