THE IRA may have been preparing the bomb destined to explode at London's Canary Wharf during the visit of President Clinton to Ireland at the end of November, according to a senior RUC officer.
The RUC also said the lowloader lorry used in the bombing, which killed two people, injured 40 more and caused extensive damage, had twice crossed from Belfast to Stranraer, and may have been modified along the Border.
Up to £1 million sterling in reward money is available for information leading to the capture of the IRA gang which caused the explosion. The RUC yesterday called for public assistance in tracing the bombers.
Meanwhile, a leading loyalist politician has predicted that the IRA will restore its ceasefire before June 10th. The Canary Wharf bomb marked the collapse of the IRA's 1994 ceasefire.
RUC detectives yesterday said that work on modifying the lorry used to carry the bomb may have been carried out somewhere along the Border as far back as November, possibly before President Clinton's visit.
Considerable skilled work and professional equipment was employed in preparing the low loader, which was a composite of other vehicles, according to the RUC.
RUC Det Insp Alan Mains said a false bottom was fitted to the vehicle to conceal the estimated 1,000lb of explosives used in the attack. The chassis was also rein forced. The owner of the Co Monaghan registered vehicle has been traced and eliminated from inquiries.
Insp Mains said that the "very unusual vehicle" crossed from Belfast to Stranraer in Scotland on two occasions: in mid January, returning the following day to Belfast, and on February 7th, two days before the bombing, when it was driven to London via Stranraer.
It is believed that the first trip was a dummy run. Police say that they received an "amazing" public response as to the movements of the vehicle from Stranraer to London, but they were now seeking information about its movements in Northern Ireland and possibly the Republic.
Insp Mains said police were trying to establish where the vehicle was modified. "It is not the sort of job one would expect to be carried out in the open. So where was the work carried out and by whom?" he inquired.
Commander John Grieve, head of London's Metropolitan Police Anti Terrorist Branch, will travel to Northern Ireland next week to further extend inquiries into the hunt for the bombers.
Meanwhile, Mr Billy Hutchinson of the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party has predicted that the IRA will reinstate its ceasefire before June 10th when all party negotiations are due to begin.
Mr Hutchinson said a positive statement was needed from the IRA as soon as possible to calm fears of renewed violence. "I believe that by June 10th the IRA will have reinstated their ceasefire, and we will be in talks," he told BBC Radio Ulster yesterday.
