LONDON — Three victims of Irish Republican Army bombings in England discontinued their damages claim against former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams at the U.K. High Court in London. The damages claim was being heard over a civil trial scheduled to last two weeks.

Anne Studd, the lawyer for the three victims, said the claim would be discontinued after proceedings developed overnight. She said the discontinuation was related to an argument around abuse of process and that her clients would not be liable for any costs related to Adams.

The victims had sued Adams for allegedly being directly responsible and complicit in Provisional IRA decisions to detonate bombs in England in 1973 and 1996. They sought one pound ($1.34) in damages from the case.

Adams gave evidence in the trial but was not present in court on the last day. The 77-year-old former Sinn Féin leader welcomed the discontinuation of the claim and said he had sympathy for the victims.

The three victims were John Clark, a police officer who had shrapnel lodged in his head and hand from the 1973 Old Bailey courthouse bombing in London; Jonathan Ganesh, who suffered psychological harm from the 1996 London Docklands bombing; and Barry Laycock, who was left disabled and struggled financially after the 1996 Arndale shopping center bombing in Manchester. The victims said they had not brought their claims earlier because they did not realize they could do so, could not afford it, were suffering from mental or physical injuries, and feared violent reprisals.

Adams led Sinn Féin between 1983 and 2018 and helped broker the 1998 Good Friday peace accord. He has always denied being a member of the Irish Republican Army and was never charged with the 1973 or 1996 bombings or arrested on suspicion of being connected to them.

Adams was charged with being a member of the Irish Republican Army in 1978, but the case was later dropped due to lack of evidence. Adams won a 100,000 pound libel verdict against the BBC last year over a claim that he authorized the killing of an informant.

The Irish Republican Army set off bombs in England during the Troubles, a three-decade period of violence involving Irish republican and British loyalist militants and U.K. soldiers. Approximately 3,600 people were killed during the Troubles, most in Northern Ireland.