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At 2.54 am on Friday, October the 12th, 1984, the Irish Republican Army tried to assassinate
the entire British Cabinet. They almost succeeded. A bomb had been placed inside the Grand Hotel
in Brighton where most leading members of the Conservative Party were staying during
their annual conference. Four people died, many more were badly injured. It was the most
devastating terrorist attack ever launched against British politicians.
Among the injured, the Industry Secretary, Norman Tebbit. He was rescued by firemen working
under BBC Television lights. They asked him in hospital later if he had any allergies
to anything and he said "Yes, bombs!" Mrs Thatcher had been working in her suite
when it happened. Apart from the wrecked bathroom all the glass and mirrors in the bedroom were
smashed. Police said the Prime Minister remained icy cool throughout.
The Conference began on time. The delegates, reduced in number, stood in silence for two
minutes to honour the dead. A few hours later Mrs Thatcher was back in
the hall for her big speech. Security men were everywhere and Mrs Thatcher declared
her defiance of the bombers. Margaret Thatcher: "This Government will not
weaken. This Nation will meet that challenge. Democracy will prevail." Because more bombs
were feared, Mrs Thatcher and her husband were then escorted out of Brighton. They'd
had a remarkable escape. A bathroom which the Prime Minister had been in just two minutes
before the blast, was completely wrecked as the twenty-pound bomb sliced four floors out
of the centre of the building. In other parts of the hotel, bedrooms used by Government
Ministers and Conservative Party officials were showered with masonry. Hours later the
IRA issued a grim warning "Today we were unlucky. But remember you only have to be lucky once."
As for Mrs Thatcher, her retort was quite simple - "Life must go on".