Today the M.E.N, victims and leading politicians make a joint demand for justice 20 years after the IRA devastated Manchester city centre .
Despite the appalling human and financial cost of the blast, the anniversary of which is on Wednesday, no suspects have ever even been questioned by police over the attack - even though they believed at the time that they knew who had carried it out.
We believe that amounts to a bitter miscarriage of justice - and today we make our call as police confirm they are taking a fresh look at the case.
Thousands fled in terror as the biggest bomb to explode on mainland Britain outside of wartime tore through the centre of this city on June 15, 1996 , causing horrific injury, wrecking livelihoods and triggering a multimillion pound rebuild operation.
Although the IRA blew apart Manchester’s heart, it couldn’t destroy its soul and the city rose again from the ashes.
But the fact nobody was ever arrested - apart from the M.E.N. journalist who revealed the name of the prime suspect, plus his supposed source - means Manchester has unfinished business.
Victims carry the emotional and physical scars of what happened to this day.
Gillian Brumby, was flung into the middle of the street by the blast, leaving giant shards of glass in her back and trauma that will last a lifetime.
The 55-year-old, originally from Bury, had been sitting in front of Debenhams window the bomb shook Manchester, embedding giant shards of glass in her back.
“For months, I could hear the sound of the police helicopter whirring over the city in my head,” he says.
“I think about it all the time - especially this year as it’s the twentieth anniversary. Someone has to be held to account for what they did.
“They need to be brought to justice because of the lives they affected, mine included, and the damage they did to the city.”
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In 1999, the M.E.N. sent shockwaves through Greater Manchester Police when we identified the main suspect - and revealed that despite him being in their sights, he had been allowed to return to Manchester, survey the wreckage and go back to Ireland, all the while under surveillance.
The journalist who revealed the story, Steve Panter, would later be subjected to a ferocious police investigation aimed at rooting out who had leaked that information.
To this day he and his alleged source, police officer Gordon Mutch, are the only two people ever to be arrested in connection with the atrocity.
Graham Stringer, MP for Blackley and Broughton, has always believed the prime suspect - and others - were not brought to justice due to the IRA peace process, which at the time of the police investigation was building up to the Good Friday agreement.
“It was quite clear then, as now, who had blown us up. They had decided not to pursue them. And that was because of the peace process,” he said.
“It’s appalling that nobody has been put in the frame and the only people ever arrested were a journalist and a police officer.
“What does that say about British justice? It’s a disgrace that 20 years on, there’s still no justice.”
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The council’s city centre spokesman Pat Karney, who was among thousands of people to flee the blast, says his memories of it are as clear now as they were the next day.
He strongly believes that had Manchester’s blast been fatal, the pressure to arrest would have been impossible for the authorities to ignore.
As a fresh inquest into the deadly 1974 IRA bombings in Birmingham is reopened, he is calling on Greater Manchester Police to open up their files and reveal what they knew at the time - so that Manchester, too, can have justice.
“As an Irish person I’m ashamed of what took place in Manchester,” he said. “I hope they can face their consciences and realise they could have killed hundreds of people.
“It’s time to put the record straight.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole said:
“As the 20th anniversary of the incident approaches, it is now the right time for another assessment of the case in order to identify and explore any possible potential investigative opportunities.
“The Manchester bomb affected many people which is why the case has remained open and has been kept under constant review.
“As part of this process a team of specialist officers carried out a more detailed review ahead of the 10th anniversary of the incident. In 2006 in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, we concluded at the time there was no realistic possibility of prosecution.
“If new information comes to light it would be considered and I would urge anyone with information relevant to the investigation to get in touch with police.
Anyone with information should contact police on 101, or the independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Woman hit by falling glass demands justice
One of the victims of the Manchester bomb - who was left with horrific injuries after a window pane fell onto her - has joined the demands that someone is brought to justice for the attack.
Gillian Brumby was sat reading a book when the bomb devastated the city centre two decades ago.
She was thrown into the middle of the street after a huge window pane landed on her, with giant shards of glass stuck in her back.
Gillian, now 55, was left with severe wounds, but it is the emotional scars of the horrific day that plague her two decades later.
She has urged the authorities, 20-years-later, to bring those responsible for the horrendous attack to justice.
Gillian, Originally from Bury , who now lives in Blackpool, said: “Someone has to be held to account for what they did.
“They need to be brought to justice because of the lives they affected, mine included, and the damage they did to the city.”
For months after the city was rocked by the attack, Gillian heard the sound of the police chopper as she lay awake at night.
She added: “I worked at Mappin & Webb when the bomb went off.
“I was sat under a Debenhams window. When the bomb went off, the whole window hit my back and head.
“I was left with cuts all over my body.
“I was on my break, sat minding my own business. I was sat on a jacket, reading a book with a friend.
“We felt this almighty bang. It was like a huge vacuum cleaner sucking up air and then letting go.
“We were directly above the explosion, so I didn’t really see it, but I felt it.
“I ended up landing in the middle of the road. I’ve no idea how. I had huge pieces of glass in my back, it was awful.
“I had shards of glass sticking into me, underneath my blouse. And my head and face were badly damaged.
“Luckily, I was one of the first people the police helped and I was taken to hospital.
“It all happened so quickly. It’s only through photographs that I can remember the aftermath.
“It was all just so surreal. For months, I could hear the sound of the helicopter whirring over the city in my head.
“I could hear it so clearly and it took me back.
“I went back into Manchester a few months later and it was horrible. I went back to work later, but I only lasted six months.
“I was uneasy being in the city centre again.
“I think about it all the time - especially this year as it’s the twentieth anniversary.
“It’s just surreal. As if it never happened.”
