Vantis bomber may be disgruntled motorist
Letter bomb blast at DVLA this morning points to likelihood that a disgruntled motorist was behind explosion at Vantis office
A letter bomb that went off at the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority
(DVLA) headquarters in Swansea today could confirm suspicions that the package
which exploded in the Vantis offices yesterday was the work of a disgruntled
motorist.
The DVLA maintains the national vehicle database and collects car tax. The
bomb that went off at the Wokingham office of Vantis branch yesterday was
addressed to a client who is a managing director of Speed Check Services, a
company that uses the Berkshire office as a registered business address. A third
letter bomb was received by congestion-charge collector, Capita, on Monday.
A member of staff from the DVLA was taken to hospital for treatment following
the attack this morning, and two people were injured in an attack against Vantis
on Tuesday. One woman was injured at Capita on Monday.
The group head of marketing at Vantis, Ross Clarkson, told Accountancy
Age that the exploding package received at his offices had been addressed
to a client and not the firm itself. At the time, he would not reveal the name
of the company targeted.
‘We have never had anything like this happen to us before. At this stage, I
can’t conjecture as to what the reason for the attack was,’ said Clarkson.
The office, in the Oaklands business park, was cordoned off for forensic
examination. Clarkson said he did not know how long it would be before the
police had completed their investigation and staff could return to work.
The two employees injured in the blast were both males in their thirties. One
was a company trainee and the other was a member of the administrative staff.
Their injuries were minor and treated on site.
The firm has taken security advice and is following this up across its
19-office UK network.
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said an investigation had been launched. ‘We
don’t have any ideas yet as to who may be responsible. Police have evacuated the
building and placed a cordon around the scene,’ he said.
‘It is likely an item of mail ignited and caused the injuries. We are aware
of a similar incident in London yesterday, but it is too soon to speculate as to
whether this is connected.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the Met was ‘keeping an open mind’ and
was working to establish whether the two incidents were linked. ‘We are liaising
with the Thames Valley Police who are investigating the latest letter bomb
incident in Wokingham,’ he said.