Kieran Hughes - Terror Attack Brighton: Blowing Up the Iron Lady

The Grand Hotel, Brighton.

An evil group has once again planned and carried out an attack on innocent people in pursuit of their aims. They have deliberately struck at the heart of our nation

Deputy Prime Minister Willie Whitelaw
in the House of Lords, a few days after the explosion

Total security is impossible in a free, democratic society, but in the light of Brighton we must enhance previously acceptable levels of security

Home Secretary, Leon Brittan,
three months after the Brighton bomb

First published in Great Britain in 2014 by
Pen & Sword Politics
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Pen & Sword Books Ltd
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Copyright Kieran Hughes, 2014

ISBN 978 1 47382 329 7

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This book is dedicated to my Mum and her brave fight against cancer a real inspiration, and to those who died or who suffered terribly as a result of the Brighton bombing.

The five people killed in the bombing were:

Sir Anthony Berry, 59, the MP for Enfield Southgate

Roberta Wakeham, 45, wife of the then Tory Chief Whip Lord Wakeham

Eric Taylor, 54, the Tories North West Area Chairman

Muriel Maclean, 54, wife of the President of the Scottish Conservatives, Sir Donald Maclean

Jeanne Shattock, 52, wife of the Tories Western Area Chairman

Margaret Tebbit was permanently paralysed in the attack

I am grateful to a number of individuals who have assisted my research over the years, from the projects inception as an undergraduate dissertation to its release as a book five years later. Not least my interviewees at undergraduate level who gave up their time to help me and inspire my interest in this topic. My thanks go to Lord Tebbit, George Hammond, Lord Stockton, Canon Robert Fayers and Jo Berry who organised my original meeting with Patrick Magee that led to a deeper interest in the bombing but also the troubles in Northern Ireland. I am grateful to Patrick for speaking candidly with me during my time as a history graduate at the University of Reading. My other thanks in later research go to Chief Constable Simon Parr, staff at The Keep in Brighton, Lord Jenkin, Simon Fanshawe and Jon Orrell. My usual thanks for their continued support go to the staff at Pen and Sword Publishing, especially Lisa Hooson, editor Alison Miles and my agent Hilary Elston. It was my Mum who really got me into gear to write this book and without her I would probably have started writing it in time for the fiftieth anniversary!

Thanks to my historical consultant Phil Seaman for checking my work and offering advice and making corrections. Thanks also to Hugh Mothersole for his assistance in IT matters. Any errors or omissions that remain are therefore my own. My sincere thanks go to my family in general who have supported me during the very busy time putting this book together sorry I ignored you at the time. Thanks to Nabeela for looking after me when I was ill during the time that I was researching and writing this book. Thanks, once again, to Nikki and Tim at TCS Autos in High Wycombe for keeping me motoring during the busy days of researching and writing. Your support is very much appreciated.

In the book I have attempted to compile a narrative of events with some analysis of the twists and turns from the time, as well as my own opinions and theories. However, it is not my intention to sympathise or support any particular political side and I have tried to stay neutral, while examining ideas, contributions and reactions from different political angles at all times. Intentionally, I have attempted to examine the wider situation surrounding the Brighton bombing by looking at the Troubles leading up to the explosion, as well as the investigation, trial, albeit briefly, and subsequent security issues. I have used some of the newly released archive material but made the decision to be quite selective and have left out some of the documents that I felt were repetitive. I hope you enjoy the book; I have been given access to some very interesting interviewees and primary sources to put together a contextualised account of what happened, as well as exploring the emotions, reactions and impact of the bombing. Further reading on this topic from me can be found at www.yellowboxhistory.co.uk.

S ome of these people feature heavily in the book, some not so heavily and there are a few that did not make it in to the final draft but still need to be mentioned.

Born in 1948, Gerry Adams has been a senior Sinn Fein figure for several decades, vice-president, president and MP. Sinn Fein is the political wing of the IRA. Adams states that he has never been a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). However, a number of former members have accused him of being a member in the past. Adams has called these comments libellous and insists that he has never been a member of the IRA but neither has he ever disassociated himself from it.

Born in 1927, Armstrong was educated at Eton College and Oxford University, later becoming a successful civil servant. From 1979 to 1987, he served as Secretary of the Cabinet under Margaret Thatcher.

Bishop was a station officer with the East Sussex Fire Brigade in 1984. He was the fireman who pulled Norman Tebbit out of the rubble. He asked Tebbit if he was okay and Tebbit yelled at him to get off his foot! Bishop made the decision to go into the hotel against procedure (if a bomb explodes) because he knew people were trapped and needed help quickly.

Sir Anthony Berry was the MP for Southgate and one of the five people who died when the Grand Hotel, Brighton was ripped apart by a bomb on 12 October 1984. The 59-year-old had been staying in a room below the explosion and was killed in the blast.

The daughter of Anthony Berry and the Hon. Mary Roche, an aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. Her father Anthony Berry was killed in the explosion. Berry met Patrick Magee in November 2000, in an effort to work at reconciliation. They now tour together to promote dialogue and understanding of conflict and resolution.