According to the media, the court found that Downey’s fingerprints were on car parking tickets found in a vehicle connected to the bombing.
"I have found that the defendant was an active participant in the concerted plan to detonate the bomb, with the intent to kill or at least to cause serious harm to members of the Household Cavalry", Justice Yip said in her conclusion, as quoted by the broadcaster.
Downey did not attend the trial, as he is in custody awaiting trial on another murder charge. He filed a written defence statement.
The relatives of the four slain servicemen brought a civil case to the High Court after Downey was acquitted of the murders in a criminal trial five years ago. Downey was in possession of a document produced by the UK government in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement often referred to as an "on-the-run letter". These documents outlined that those arrested were eligible for early release, although they did not specify terms for those accused of crimes.
The Good Friday Agreement was a deal brokered between the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, as well as eight political parties or groups in Northern Ireland. It set out a framework of devolved government for Northern Ireland that brought an end to a thirty-year conflict often called "The Troubles", which included fighting between the UK army, IRA and Ulster loyalist paramilitaries that claimed more than 3,500 deaths.
