Who is IRA Hyde Park bombing suspect John Downey and what has the queen said about the atrocity?

LEGAL aid bosses finally agreed to fund civil action against Hyde Park bombing suspect John Downey, with news emerging the Queen said the date was the worst day of her life.

It follows five attempts and a Sun campaign to secure funding to establish his role in the atrocity. But why was he not prosecuted originally?

What was John Downey accused of?

Downey is accused of carrying out two London bombings in one afternoon in 1982.

The Hyde Park bomb, hidden in a blue Morris Marina, exploded as a Household Cavalry troop headed to a Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace on July 20, 1982.

Four British soldiers – Lance Corporal Young, Corporal Roy Bright, Trooper Simon Tipper and Lieutenant Anthony Daly – were killed in the blast.

Two hours after the attack, a second remote-controlled explosion killed seven bandsmen from the Royal Green Jackets at Regent’s Park.

Police claimed Downey’s fingerprints were found on two NCP parking tickets for the Marina.

They said he moved it between London cars parks in the days before the blast — then finally parked it close to the troopers’ route.

Downey’s association with the IRA is alleged to date back to the dawn of the Troubles in the ’60s.

In 1974 he was convicted in Dublin of membership of a prohibited organisation.

What has the Queen said about the bombings?

Her Majesty, 92, described the IRA’s 1982 attack on London as “the most ghastly day of my life”, according to Andrew Parker Bowles.

Brigadier Parker Bowles, 78, whose ex wife Camilla is married to Prince Charles, was leading the Household Cavalry on the day.

Later that day, Andrew spoke to The Queen, and revealed: “She said to me it was ‘The most ghastly day of my life’.”

Why wasn’t he prosecuted?

Downey was detained in 2014 at Gatwick Airport before he flew to Greece on holiday.

When cops tried to interview him in his cell about the attack, he covered his face with a pillow and refused to talk.

But an Old Bailey judge ruled that he could not be prosecuted because bungling Northern Ireland police wrongly guaranteed in 2007 he would not face trial over any historic terror offences.

He was sent a “comfort letter” guaranteeing he would not face prosecution at the height of the Northern Ireland peace negotiations.

But a Northern Ireland police unit responsible for sending the letters knew Scotland Yard did consider Republic of Ireland citizen Downey an active suspect and intended to arrest him if he entered the UK.

Judge Justice Sweeney ruled a prosecution would “undermine public confidence in holding officials to promises they’ve made”.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.