Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013: War with the IRA and surviving the Brighton bombing
When a massive bomb tore through the fabric of the Grand
Hotel in Brighton in October 1984, Margaret Thatcher came within inches
of death.She had wound up a late-night session in her suite and
was about to go into the bathroom when she was called back to sign a
last letter, just before 3am.The bathroom was destroyed by the bomb; the letter saved her life.To many, her defiant reaction - continuing the Tory conference the fatal bomb targeted - was her finest hour.To others, the disaster was part of a war she had escalated against the first and fiercest of her "enemies within".Five
died, including Tory MP Sir Anthony Berry. The long-delay blast should
have been a huge coup for the Provisional IRA, who had been waging war
against Britain for 10 years before Thatcher came to power.But it was dramatically turned into a victory for the government.Rising to the crisis, Thatcher had the presence of mind to take a suit with her when led out of the hotel by police.She
changed from her ballgown and gave a bullish interview to the BBC. She
refused to be driven back to Downing Street or cancel the rest
of the event.She spent the night at Lewes Police College, and
woke with the nation to television pictures of her President
of the Board of Trade Norman Tebbit being rescued from the rubble in
agony.
His wife Margaret was injured terribly and has been paralysed ever since.
At 9.30am Thatcher strode, as scheduled, on to the conference platform.Ever attentive to detail, she had insisted the local Marks & Spencer be opened early so those left only in their night clothes could be kitted out.The flag-waving and patriotic music were dropped, her speech was shorn of much of its anti-Labour rhetoric, and she spoke stirringly of her determination to beat the bombers.
Some hope. The IRA continued to be a major problem throughout her premiership. Her unyielding determination only made them more aggressive."Compromise" and "negotiation" were not words in Margaret Thatcher's lexicon, and the men of bullets and bombs were happy to take her on.Tellingly, her time in power began and ended with very personal tragedies wrought by the IRA.At the start of the campaign that swept her to the premiership, the friend who masterminded her bid for power, Airey Neave, was blown up driving out of the Palace of Westminster car park.Had he survived the attack on March 30, 1979, he would have been her Northern Ireland Secretary of State.
His wife Margaret was injured terribly and has been paralysed ever since.
At 9.30am Thatcher strode, as scheduled, on to the conference platform.Ever attentive to detail, she had insisted the local Marks & Spencer be opened early so those left only in their night clothes could be kitted out.The flag-waving and patriotic music were dropped, her speech was shorn of much of its anti-Labour rhetoric, and she spoke stirringly of her determination to beat the bombers.
Some hope. The IRA continued to be a major problem throughout her premiership. Her unyielding determination only made them more aggressive."Compromise" and "negotiation" were not words in Margaret Thatcher's lexicon, and the men of bullets and bombs were happy to take her on.Tellingly, her time in power began and ended with very personal tragedies wrought by the IRA.At the start of the campaign that swept her to the premiership, the friend who masterminded her bid for power, Airey Neave, was blown up driving out of the Palace of Westminster car park.Had he survived the attack on March 30, 1979, he would have been her Northern Ireland Secretary of State.