Hyde Park Justice Campaign

by Mark Tipper

Hyde Park Justice Campaign

by Mark Tipper
Mark Tipper
Case Owner
My name is Mark Tipper. My brother, Trooper Simon Tipper, was murdered by the IRA. He was just 19. I am raising money to bring the chief suspect to court after a government mistake let him walk free.
Funded
on 20th April 2017
£85,350
pledged of £85,000 stretch target from 1742 pledges
Mark Tipper
Case Owner
My name is Mark Tipper. My brother, Trooper Simon Tipper, was murdered by the IRA. He was just 19. I am raising money to bring the chief suspect to court after a government mistake let him walk free.

Latest: Nov. 27, 2020

Final Phase: The Damages Hearing

Following the High Court’s finding last year that terrorist on-the-run John Downey was responsible for the murder of 4 British soldiers for his part in the 1982 IRA bombing of Hyde Park, the Hi…

Read more

We can bring the Chief Suspect in one of Britain’s worst terrorist atrocities to justice but time is running out, and our own government is thwarting our efforts.  That is why we are asking the British public to support us instead.  We need to hit our fundraising goal before August 1st – otherwise we will lose our chance and the Chief Suspect will evade justice yet again.

We urgently need your help.  With it, we can succeed.  Together, we can ensure justice is done.  We cannot allow terrorists to get away with murder.

Clockwise from top left: Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young, Lieutenant Anthony Daly, Trooper Simon Tipper and Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright

Background

In 1982, my brother, Trooper Simon Tipper, was murdered in cold blood by IRA terrorists along with three other British soldiers during the Changing of the Guard Procession.    Dozens of other soldiers and civilians were also injured and maimed.  Seven horses were slaughtered.  Later that day, seven bandsmen from the Royal Green Jackets were murdered in Regent’s Park, believed to be by the same IRA team.  This was one of the worst terrorist attacks ever committed on British soil.

The Chief Suspect spent thirty years on the run.  In 2013, he was finally arrested and brought to trial, but, despite reports that police files link him to five other terrorist attacks, a “catastrophic mistake” by Tony Blair’s government let him go.

With your support, we can help correct this mistake.

Our Case

We want successful civil proceedings to ensure a judicial record of the truth behind our loved ones’ murders.  This would send an important message to terrorists everywhere that they will be brought to justice.  Any compensation will be paid to a veterans’ charity.  

In February, Sarahjane Young, whose father Lance Corporal Jeffery Young was one of the murdered soldiers, issued a case against the Chief Suspect in the High Court with our support.  Our legal team have confirmed where the Chief Suspect is living and have access to the evidence to bring him to trial - our barristers say our case is strong.

Why No Legal Aid?

Under the law, we have until August to serve proceedings.  The Legal Aid Agency knows this but, after two years of negotiations, still hasn’t granted funding.  They repeatedly block funding for our case on absurd grounds such as trying the Chief Suspect isn’t in the public interest.  How can it not be in the public interest to bring suspected terrorists to trial?  All the while, millions in legal aid has been spent trying to prosecute British veterans who fought to keep us safe from terrorism.

What message are we sending to terrorists if we say - you can attack our cities, murder our troops, police and innocent civilians, and still be left to walk free and not answer for your crimes?  Terrorists cannot be allowed to get away with murder.  If we allow this to happen, we are only emboldening them to commit further atrocities.  

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, this case is obviously a matter of huge public importance.  

Our loved ones pledged their lives to this country. Yet one government after another has turned its back on them, and us.

We have been made victims three times over.  First by the bomb, then by Blair and now by the bureaucrats of the Legal Aid Agency.

How your donation will help

If we can’t fund this action now, the law says Sarahjane may be out of time to pursue the case and the Chief Suspect will have evaded justice yet again.  We can’t let this happen.

We are raising funds step-by-step and hope that, at some stage, the Legal Aid Agency will no longer be able to refuse us funding.

The total cost of this case to its conclusion has been calculated by an independent cost draftsman as £640,000.  

Having already funded, prepared and issued a Claim form with the High Court, the action is now officially underway, but there are several additional legal stages we now have to fund.  All the work is being carried out at legal rates and has been independently costed and determined to be necessary by a costs draftsman.  We will release details on further stages as we progress.

We hope you understand that, due to the nature of the case and the fact that the Chief Suspect is a convicted terrorist, this court case is more complicated than most.  We are also prevented from giving too much detail here.  As this is a public website, we can’t alert the Chief Suspect in advance to the precise nature of some of the actions we’re taking.

Aftermath of the blast

My Personal Plea

I am asking you to support Sarahjane – and all the victims’ families – to bring the man believed to have murdered Sarahjane’s father, my brother Simon and the other British soldiers to justice.  Your support will allow our legal team to continue their work to bring the Chief Suspect to trial and finally to be held to account.  We could not have come this far if it had not been for the hundreds of hours of work they have done us pro bono over the last few years, but they cannot bring this case to court without your help and proper funding.

Your support means the world to me, Sarahjane and the other families who lost their loved ones in this atrocity.  Thank you for your support.

Mark Tipper on Behalf of the Hyde Park Justice Campaign

Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young with his daughter Sarahjane, taken weeks before his death

Our Legal Team

We are represented by McCue & Partners LLP, the UK's expert in counter-terror litigation, who have represented thousands of victims of terrorism worldwide in cases against the likes of the Real IRA, HAMAS and Muammar al-Gaddafi.  The Firm represented the families of the victims of the 1998 bombing of Omagh by the Real IRA, in ground-breaking and successful civil proceedings against the bombers and the terrorist organisation itself.  It was the first time that victims had brought a private prosecution against the terrorists when the state had failed or been unable to act.

Get updates about this case

Subscribe to receive email updates from the case owner on the latest news about the case.

Be a promoter

Your share on Facebook could raise £26 for the case

I'll share on Facebook
Update 29

Mark Tipper

Nov. 27, 2020

Final Phase: The Damages Hearing

Following the High Court’s finding last year that terrorist on-the-run John Downey was responsible for the murder of 4 British soldiers for his part in the 1982 IRA bombing of Hyde Park, the High Court will sit for a two-day hearing next Monday 30 November to consider what damages he should be ordered to pay the claimant, Sarah Jane Young, whose father, Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young was one of the victims.

Update 28

Mark Tipper

Dec. 19, 2019

Justice Prevailed!!!

Dear friends and supporters,


As we're sure you've seen in the news, we had an enormous victory in court yesterday with the High Court ruling that John Downey was responsible for the Hyde Park bombing.


We're so grateful to everyone involved in the case and especially for your ongoing support - thank you so much!  We could not have it done without you.



Update 27

Mark Tipper

Nov. 26, 2019

Trial Fixed for 11th December

Dear friends and supporters,


Thank you so much for all of your continued support. We could not have got this far without you. 


We wanted to give you another quick update to let you know that our lawyers recently attended a pre-trial review at the court. A timetable has now been set for the trial – the judge has estimated that the trial will last for three days and it is now set to begin on the morning of Wednesday 11 December. 


We can’t believe the trial is only three weeks away. Together with your help, we hope that after all these years we will bring the chief suspect to justice.


Mark Tipper, brother of murdered trooper Simon Tipper

ON BEHALF OF THE HYDE PARK JUSTICE CAMPAIGN

Update 26

Mark Tipper

Sept. 29, 2019

Trial is scheduled for 9th of December

Dear friends and supporters. We haven’t updated you in a while but, thanks to your support, our campaign has made tremendous progress. The chief suspect in the murder of our loved ones, John Downey, will face trial  for the Hyde Park Bomb on 9 December at the High Court in London. Meanwhile, due to pressure from our campaign, Downey is also soon to be extradited from Ireland to the UK to face prosecution for the terrorist double-murder of two volunteer soldiers. We could not have come this far without you. Thank you for your continued support.  HPJC. 

Update 25

Mark Tipper

July 20, 2018

Update


Dear Friends and Supporters,


Today The Sun published the following report: -



'STILL A COWARD' 

Hyde Park bombing suspect John Downey cruelly snubs final chance to accept responsibility


Lawyers for victims' families asked Downey to pay £40,000 to a veterans charity and to admit his role in the 1982 atrocity but the court deadline expired last night



You can read more here


Today is also the 36th anniversary of the Hyde Park Bomb, which murdered four British soldiers and injured dozens more, including civilians.


As you know, Sarah Jane Young, whose father, Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young, was one of the murdered soldiers, was finally granted legal aid to pursue her legal action against the chief suspect, John Downey, in February.  Since then, the legal team has been busy making sure that the court process marches forward.  


Most recently, court rules have required us to attempt a settlement with Mr. Downey.  We did so but he has not responded.  As a consequence, we will now move forward to trial, which we hope will take place in Spring next year.


Thank you for your continued support.


Please remember to follow us on Twitter and on Facebook for more updates @HydeParkJustice.


With our best wishes


Mark Tipper, brother of murdered trooper Simon Tipper

ON BEHALF OF THE HYDE PARK JUSTICE CAMPAIGN

Update 24

Mark Tipper

Feb. 6, 2018

We've been granted legal aid!


We are so pleased to be able to tell you that, after three-years of struggle, we have finally been granted legal aid to take this case forward.


This case would not have survived without your kindness and generous support.  We would never have made it this far without you.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.


We will, of course, keep you updated as things progress.  We can now get on with the work of bringing this case to trial.


You can read more about this milestone here.


With all our thanks


Mark Tipper, brother of murdered Trooper Simon Tipper

Hyde Park Justice Campaign



Update 23

Mark Tipper

Aug. 18, 2017

We met our funding target

Yesterday we met our funding target of £85,000.  Thank you to all those who have supported us these past few months.  We couldn't have come this far without you.  Your kindness and generosity have meant the world to us.

Update 22

Mark Tipper

Aug. 15, 2017

Papers are served! - We've met our first Milestone

Thanks to all your support, our legal team has been able to prepare our case and serve the necessary legal papers on Downey to commence our civil action.  The papers have been sent and hand delivered to Downey’s properties.  Additionally, we obtained a court order allowing us to serve Downey through an advert in the Irish Independent newspaper.  Our legal team placed the advert last week, and the court order confirms that this also counts as notification of the case to Downey.  He now has until the beginning of next month to respond our claim.  This is a major milestone that we could not have achieved without your kindness and generosity.

Update 21

Mark Tipper

July 18, 2017

Armed Forces Veterans to Honour Hyde Park Victims

On Saturday, Veterans of our armed forces will be marching to support the Hyde Park Justice Campaign and to protest our treatment by the government.


Please join us and show your support.  For more details, please contact [email protected]


Update 20

Mark Tipper

July 10, 2017

£60,000 raised!

The support over the past few weeks has been wonderful.  We’ve now raised just over £60,000 but we still have another £25,000 to go until we meet our next target.  Please continue to spread with your family, friends and colleagues.  The more people who know, the more chance we have of getting there.  With all our thanks.  HPJC

Update 19

Mark Tipper

June 28, 2017

An amazing 48hrs

We have had an incredible few days.  We can welcome 200 new supporters who have joined and donated to the campaign.  Thank you so much!  Just as incredibly, a number of our existing supporting supporters have donated for a second time.


The result of this is that we have managed to raise almost £8,000 in 48h hours.  There is still some way to go but this has been a massive boost and has given us hope that we will meet our next target.


Meanwhile, our legal team is making progress on finishing its gathering of all the necessary evidence and taking next steps.


Thank you so much again for all your continued support.  It means the world to us and we could not be doing this without you.

Update 18

Mark Tipper

June 24, 2017

Armed Forces Day

On Armed Forces Day, please help the families of four British soldiers murdered by terrorists bring the chief suspect to justice after a "catastrophic mistake" by the Government allowed him to walk free. We have been denied legal aid and the Prime Minister refuses to intervene. WE STILL NEED YOUR URGENT HELP.

Update 17

Mark Tipper

May 23, 2017

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT!

This afternoon we hit our first stretch target of £40,000.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to help us get here!

We could not have done this without your amazing generosity, and although there is a long road ahead, your support shows us that, even 35 years on from the devastating bombing, there is still hope for justice for our loved ones and to send a message to terrorists that, no matter where and how long you hide, justice will catch up with you!

We and our legal team can now continue on the next step on the road to justice. We will be updating you on our progress soon.

Please continue to spread the word and to donate what you can. Your support, as ever, means everything to us.

With the utmost thanks.

HPJC

Update 16

Mark Tipper

May 23, 2017

Corbyn responds to open letter.

Last month we wrote to Jeremy Corbyn as leader of Her Majesty's Opposition to ask if it would discharge its duty and challenge the Government on its failure to provide adequate support to the victims of the Hyde Park bombings. Yesterday morning Mark Tipper (brother to murdered Trooper Simon Tipper) published an open letter to Mr Corbyn challenging him on this issue. Subsequently, last night the Guardian reported Mr Corbyn wanted to meet with the families, however we have yet to hear from him directly. We will keep you updated on any new information.

We are currently only £227 away from our target. Help us get over this final hurdle so we can begin the legal proceedings to get justice. please share and donate here. Any donation, no matter how small or great is massively appreciated!

Thanks.

HPJC

Update 15

Mark Tipper

May 22, 2017

£412 to go

It's the start of a new week and we are only £412 away from getting the justice ball rolling. Thank you to all who have helped us get this far. Please do keep circulating our page and of course please donate what you can here. We are so close!

Reaching the target will enable our legal team to officially kick start proceedings. It's out there, let's see if we can reach our goal before the bank holiday.

Update 14

Mark Tipper

May 17, 2017

We've nearly raised £40,000

We are so close to our magical number of £40,000. A massive thank you to all who have donated and we are only £1,375 short of meeting our target. We kindly ask you to help us with one last push to get over the line. Please do share our page with friends, family and colleagues. You can find us on Facebook where you can like or share our campaign. You can also give us a follow or re-tweet us on twitter

Thanks for your ongoing support, it means the world to us!

HPJC

Update 13

Mark Tipper

May 16, 2017

900 Supporters!

We're delighted to have reached 900 supporters! Thanks so much to everyone who has joined us in our campaign for justice so far. We're very confident that we'll soon reach our target of £40,000 and we need your continued enthusiasm to get there. Please do follow us over on Facebook and share our posts and please let us know if you have any contacts who may be useful in spreading the word about our campaign. Thank you again, HPJC

Update 12

Mark Tipper

May 9, 2017

We've been granted an extension!

We are thrilled to announce that thanks to the ongoing support for our campaign, we have been granted an extension of 30 days. 

We have refreshed the campaign with new information and new images. Please take a moment to review this. 

We have already raised over £36,000 from over 800 people and for this we are truly grateful. This is enough money to enable us to carry out the work of phase 1 and enter phase 2 of the work involved to bring the Chief Suspect in these terrorist murders to justice. You can read more about this in the new campaign information below.

Please share our success so far and continue to support us over the next 30 days. We'll keep you updated every step of the way. Thank you again, HPJC. 

Update 11

Mark Tipper

May 7, 2017

24 hours to reach our target

We have 24 hours left to reach our £40k stretch target. Tomorrow we will apply for an extension to the campaign to allow us to exceed our goal, but it's important to us that we reach our target in the meantime. It would mean the world to us if you would take a moment this evening to share the campaign and help us over the £40k line.  

Thank you very much for your continued support.

Update 10

Mark Tipper

May 4, 2017

Over 800 backers!

Just a few days ago we were at 700 backers and thanks to the immense support from our crowd, we are now at over 800 backers. As well as hitting our next £40,000 target soon, we have a personal goal to reach 1000 supporters within this campaign. Please help us to get there today. We thank you very much for your continued support.

Update 9

Mark Tipper

May 2, 2017

More from The Sun

The Sun featured our campaign again over the weekend, you can read the latest article via the link below. We are now a week away from the end of this campaign. 

We're asking you, our loyal supporters to please share our campaign today far and wide. If we reach enough people in the next few days, we have a chance to fund over our next £40,000 goal. If everyone shared the campaign with someone today who went on to pledge just £10, we would be well on our way. 

Since the total cost of this case will be over £600,000, every penny raised in the next week gets us off to a better start and means that we have more time before we need to fund raise for the next stage in the journey towards justice.  

Thank you so much for your continued support  https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3448935/families-of-hyde-park-bombing-victims-launch-massive-crowdfunding-campaign-to-pay-for-bringing-ira-suspect-john-downey-to-court/

Update 8

Mark Tipper

April 27, 2017

700 Supporters

Just a couple of days ago we reached 600 supporters and so we're delighted to have gained another 100 people in support of our campaign so quickly. We're now over 700 supporters strong and we feel confident we'll make it to at least 1000. 

Here's some recent press coverage for the campaign.  

http://news.sky.com/story/hyde-park-bombing-victims-families-launch-campaign-to-fund-civil-prosecution-10850987

 http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/any-success-will-give-hope-to-innocent-victims-of-terrorism-1-7933300

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3413901/families-of-soldiers-killed-by-iras-1982-hyde-park-bomb-call-on-pm-theresa-may-for-support/

Please keep sharing our stories and our campaign. Thank you for your continued support. 

Update 7

Mark Tipper

April 25, 2017

Over 600 supporters and Press.

Today we reached the milestone of 600 supporters. Thank you to everyone who has so far supported us. We're pleased to be over 70% of the way to our first stretch goal. 

Today we are holding a press conference, which we hope will further increase the profile of this campaign. We've had some great press coverage so far. Here are a couple of examples; 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3295446/the-sun-backs-650000-fighting-fund-to-help-families-of-1982-ira-hyde-park-bomb-victims-win-justice-and-suspect-john-downey-face-up-to-his-crime-after-official-blunders/

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/opinion/another-private-case-against-the-ira-that-needs-financial-help-1-7926224

Please continue to share our campaign and join us in the conversation over on our Facebook page too. https://www.facebook.com/HydeParkJustice/

Update 6

Mark Tipper

April 20, 2017

Our first stretch goal

Thank you to everyone who supported us towards our first goal of £25,000. We are now on our way to our first stretch goal of £40,000. Every penny of overfunding on this campaign makes a huge difference to us so please continue to share and donate. You can join us over on Facebook too where you can invite your friends to like our page and follow our journey. We can't do this without you, so thank you again. 

Update 5

Mark Tipper

April 19, 2017

What a day!

Wow! What a day it's been for our campaign. We're delighted to have reached 80% of of our initial goal of £25,000 in just 10 days. Thank you to all who have supported us so far. Remember, unless we reach this goal, we get nothing. To help us further, please follow us on Facebook, share our posts and invite your friends to our page. The larger we can make our community, the more our campaign will be viewed. https://www.facebook.com/HydeParkJustice/. Thanks for your continued support. 

Update 4

Mark Tipper

April 18, 2017

400 pledges so far!

Today we surpassed 400 pledges of support to our campaign. We want to say a big thank you for helping us to achieve this milestone. 

Remember, unless we hit our minimum target of £25,000 we don't receive any of the funding. We want to get at least another 400 pledges as quickly as possible, so please do continue to share our campaign far and wide. If you know of anywhere we can post the campaign to increase our audience, please let us know via our Facebook page @hydeparkjustice. (https://www.facebook.com/HydeParkJustice/). You can also receive important day by day updates on the campaign here, so please do like, follow, invite friends and share. 

Your continued support means the world to us. Thank you again. 

Update 3

Mark Tipper

April 15, 2017

Help us reach 50% of our first target

Yesterday we put out a call for help to reach £10,000 in donations and we did.

Now, we're aiming to hit 50% by the end of the weekend.  With your help we can do it.

Please help us to reach our target by sharing this case far and wide.  The more momentum we can get in the coming days, then more chance we have of hitting our target.

Thank you.  Your support means the world to us.

Mark Tipper, brother of murdered Trooper Simon Tipper, on behalf of the Hyde Park Justice Campaign

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.

Update 2

Mark Tipper

April 14, 2017

We've raised nearly £10,000

We just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported this case so far.  Every amount, big or small helps us to get closer to our goal of bringing the Chief Suspect for the murder of our loved ones to justice.

We have had some fantastic press coverage since posting our last update:

The Sun - IRA Hyde Park Bombing Survivor Speaks of the Horror that Still Haunts Him After 35 Years

The Sun - Soldiers Daughter Campaigning for Justice Over The Hyde Park Bombing Tells of Horror At Seeing Her Father Murdered in IRA Atrocity

The Sun - IRA Horse Bomber Enjoyed Rearing Horses in Countryside Hideaway While On Run from Cops over 1982 Hyde Park Atrocity

Please help us to reach our target by sharing this case far and wide.  If you have any ideas for ways in which we can increase momentum, please get in touch at [email protected].  The more momentum we can get in the coming days, the more chance we have of hitting our target.

Thank you in advance.

Mark Tipper, brother of murdered Trooper Simon Tipper, on behalf of the Hyde Park Justice Campaign 

Update 1

Mark Tipper

April 11, 2017

Our campaign for justice has begun

Yesterday, The Sun newspaper launched our campaign on its front-page.  We can't thank the paper and its editors enough.

Now the hard work begins.  We've raised over £3,000 pounds on Crowdjustice in 24hrs, but we need to raise an awful lot more if we're going to hit our target.

We're also grateful for the support of Danny Kinahan MP, who was the best man at Lt Anthony Daly's wedding.  After Lt. Daly was murdered by the IRA, Danny commanded his burial party.

As well as here, you can follow the Campaign on Twitter and Facebook for updates @HydeParkJustice.

Thank you for your continued support.

Get updates about this case

Subscribe to receive email updates from the case owner on the latest news about the case.

    There are no public comments on this case page.