The Associated Press
LONDON — A letter bomb exploded Monday at a London company that controls the city’s traffic congestion fee, fire officials said. One worker suffered minor injuries to her hand.
The letter exploded at the Capita Commercial Services, which on behalf of the government controls the $16 daily fee for central London drivers meant to cut down on traffic in central London. It also collects television licensing fees, handles mediation and insurance for the Criminal Records Bureau, and does work for the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Work and Pensions.
Capita, with headquarters near Scotland Yard, was formed in 1984 and has more than 26,000 staff in the U.K., the Channel Islands, Ireland and India. A company spokeswoman said there was an incident but declined further comment.
The Irish Republican Army pioneered the use of letter bombs in the early 1970s as part of its campaign to oust Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom. The outlawed group targeted the offices of British government officials, security force personnel, Downing Street, and the London Stock Exchange, among others.
The tactic maimed dozens of people in the 1970s -- most commonly secretaries or security guards who opened the packages -- but killed nobody.
In response, the Royal Mail built barriers on letter boxes, which reduced the size of the slits so that only thin envelopes could be inserted. For larger packages, the Royal Mail has X-ray scanners to detect suspicious battery-powered objects.
------
On the Net:
Capita Group, http://www.capita.co.uk