Woman, 60, in IRA trial 'terrified of reprisals'

A WOMAN accused of being part of an IRA bombing campaign has told the police all she knows and is terrified of reprisals, an Old Bailey jury was told yesterday.

Until her arrest last April, Ethel Lamb, 60, a retired greengrocer, had led a 'courageous and hardworking life', Ann Curnow QC, for the defence, said in her final speech to the jury.

'This last month has been a nerve-racking experience and terrifying - can you imagine being paraded on public display in an IRA terrorist case knowing you have given information to the police, knowing reprisals probably await?'

The prosecution has said Ms Lamb allowed her lover, James Canning, 37, to use her home in Islip Gardens, Northolt, west London as a base for his bomb-making. The pair slept with a pistol under the pillow and Semtex explosive under the bed, the court has been told.

Police tailed Mr Canning into Soho where, according to John Bevan, for the prosecution, he planted the bomb. It exploded injuring no one. In Ms Lamb's garden, Mr Canning allegedly dug a store for arms and explosives.

Neither Mr Canning nor Ms Lamb, who deny conspiring to cause explosions, possessing Semtex and six rifles, gave evidence.

Mr Canning also denies causing the Soho explosion and having a loaded pistol. Ms Lamb denies supplying him with money and other property knowing it might be used for acts of terrorism.

The trial continues today.