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Radio 4's The Reunion brings together those affected by the Brighton Bomb
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In Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4's The Reunion, on Sunday 6 May, Sue MacGregor brings together some of those whose lives were changed forever by the Brighton Bomb in 1984.
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Those participating in the programme include Jo Berry, whose father Sir Anthony Berry was killed in the blast, Lord Hurd, then Northern Ireland Secretary, Conference Producer Harvey Thomas and the bomber Patrick Magee.
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Twenty-three years ago IRA explosives expert Patrick Magee planted a timed bomb in the Brighton Grand Hotel. The intention was to assassinate the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet who were to be in residence for the 1984 Conservative Party conference.
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In the early hours of 12 October, as Margaret Thatcher was making final adjustments to her conference speech, the device exploded. The blast blew a large hole in the façade of the hotel and one chimney stack collapsed trapping sleeping MPs under tons of rubble.
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Firemen worked through the night to free the victims. Although the Prime Minister escaped unscathed, five people died including Sir Anthony Berry, many people were seriously injured and one woman – Margaret Tebbit – was paralysed.
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Journalists were already on the scene for the conference and the next morning the nation awoke to shocking pictures in the newspapers and on breakfast television.
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Margaret Thatcher's conference speech resonated: "It was an attempt to cripple Her Majesty's democratically-elected Government.
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"That is the scale of the outrage in which we have all shared, and the fact that we are gathered here now – shocked, but composed and determined – is a sign not only that this attack has failed, but that all attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail."
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The IRA issued a statement a few days later infamously including the haunting words: "Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always."
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In June 1985, Patrick Magee was arrested and was later convicted with eight life sentences. Magee was released from prison in 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday agreement.
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He is no longer a member of the IRA nor Sinn Fein and although he continues to defend his previous role as "a soldier in the war against the enemy", he has expressed remorse for the loss of innocent lives and is prepared to re-appraise the past.
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Of the many atrocities which were perpetrated during the troubles, the Brighton Bomb is particularly memorable in Britain for its audacity and hideous ambition.
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In The Reunion the participants will reflect on the repercussions, and how they have been connected since in an effort to forge a larger reconciliation.
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Radio 4 Publicity
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