On 22 December 1974, a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) active service unit bombed the London home of the former prime minister Edward Heath. The attack on 17 Wilton Street, Belgravia, occurred just 10 minutes before the Conservative leader returned to the property.

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The bombing took place mere hours before a provisional IRA “Christmas truce” was scheduled to come into effect at midnight. The truce came after the IRA put proposals to Protestant clergymen on 10 December. Some days later, the clergymen met with Merlyn Rees, then secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

Heath had ceased to be the prime minister since the February 1974 election, which resulted in a hung parliament and a minority Labour government under Harold Wilson. The October 1974 election that followed returned a Labour government with a slim majority of just three seats.

For the time being, in the wake of his two general election defeats, Heath remained as Conservative leader.

On 22 December, a Ford Cortina pulled up outside Heath’s London home. A man emerged and threw a 2lb bomb, wrapped in industrial tape, onto the first-floor balcony.

The explosion shattered windows and destroyed the balcony door, but caused no significant structural damage. Heath’s housekeeper, a Mrs Crawford, and her daughter were alone in the eight‐room rented house at 17 Wilton Street and escaped injury.

Heath had been conducting the Christmas carol concert in his hometown of Broadstairs, Kent. He arrived at the scene shortly after the blast. The former prime minister then inspected the damage with commander Robert Huntley of the bomb squad.

The only item of value damaged in the explosion was a landscape painting of the South of France, gifted to Heath by its artist, Winston Churchill.

Heath told reporters: “This is likely to happen anywhere, anytime.”

The previous day, 21 December, a bomb had detonated at Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, half a mile from Heath’s home. The device cleared the store of Christmas shoppers but caused no fatalities.

On 22 December, the attackers of Wilton Street were pursued by a police patrol car. The getaway Cortina crashed in Chelsea, but the occupants managed to flee the scene on foot.

Wilson, the prime minister, sent a handwritten note to his predecessor.

The missive was addressed “Dear Ted”. It read: “This attack will only strengthen our united resolve to bring these things to justice.”

Heath told reporters that the message was “very much appreciated”.

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The following morning, 23 December, Heath flew to Northern Ireland to hold scheduled talks with security forces and political leaders.

The IRA truce came into effect at midnight on 22 December. Rees said the government would respond positively if a “genuine and sustained cessation of violence” occurred.

The truce lasted until 16 January 1975, before it was renewed in February. It then continued, with a series of breaches, until it was officially brought to an end in January 1976.

In November 1975, a bomb was defused outside Heath’s Wilton Street home. The former prime minister was not at home when the bomb was detected at 1:30 am.

Heath said: “If it had not been defused it would have gone off at about the same time as I came back.”

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