Brighton hotel bombing

Available for over a year

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was among those inside the Grand Hotel when the bomb went off just before 3 a.m on 12th October 1984. She and other members of the Conservative Party has gathered for the annual Party Conference when a bomb was detonated at the hotel. Five people were killed, including Conservative MP, Sir Anthony Berry (Deputy Chief Whip), along with Eric Taylor (North-West Area Chairman of the Conservative Party), Lady Jeanne Shattock (wife of Sir Gordon Shattock, Western Area Chairman of the Conservative Party), Lady Muriel Maclean (wife of Sir Donald Maclean, President of the Scottish Conservatives), and Roberta Wakeham (wife of Chief Whip John Wakeham). The Irish Republican Army claimed the bombing and it marked a change in Republican methods to increase pressure on the British government to bring about Irish independence. Joining Sue in the studio is the man who planted that bomb, Patrick Magee, along with the daughter of Sir Anthony Berry, Jo Berry. We also hear from Harvey Thomas, the political advisor who was at the Grand Hotel in his role as Conservative party producer and Lord Douglas Hurd, who was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the time of the bombing. Producer: Eleanor Thomas Series Producer: David Prest The Reunion is a Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4