Killing Thatcher reveals how Brighton Bomber was caught in Carlisle

Rory Carroll’s latest book Killing Thatcher recounts how bomber Patrick Magee evaded the Met Police following the assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher in 1984 at the Brighton Hotel, until a chance encounter at Carlisle’s railway station eventually led to his arrest.

The bomb at the Conservative Party's 1984 conference left five people dead, missing the Prime Minister herself as she worked from her suite. 

"It was only by complete chance he ended up getting caught," Ireland's correspondent for The Guardian said.

"The Royal Union Constabulary (RUC) was following Peter Sherry, a known IRA man, who had travelled from Belfast to Scotland by coal boat disguised as a worker.

"Eventually, he took a train from Ayr to Carlisle.

"At that point, the Metropolitan police overtook surveillance, they knew Peter was an IRA man but had no idea what he was up to.

READ MORE: Good Friday Agreement changed history, Mitchell tells anniversary event

“After staying at a hotel in Carlisle, the next morning Peter was waiting for a train at the platform when a small man with stubble approached him.

“The MET knew Magee was missing a fingertip, one of the undercovers got close and noticed at that moment that the man was missing a fingertip.”  

Aftermath of the Brighton bom (Image: NQ)

Mr Carroll said that Carlisle was often used as a ‘hub for IRA operators’, due to being further away from the terrorist unit of Scotland Yard and allowing operators to 'zig-zag across England'.

Once he was identified, around 20 watchers split into two teams. Some got on the same train as Magee and Sherry and others raced towards Glasgow station to try to beat the train and resume surveillance – all the while remaining completely undercover.

Once they got to Scotland, Strathclyde Police took over with backing from the Met.

Subsequently, the two men were eventually followed to a tenement in the city’s southside where they discovered Magee and Sherry alongside three other IRA members.

Rory Carroll's Killing Thatcher was released on April 4 (Image: Supplied)

As a result of the arrests, police would go on to uncover 16 assembled bombs alongside an indication of the whereabouts of another 'ticking' bomb planted by Magee at a hotel near Buckingham Palace. 

It was safely detonated.

"What I found fascinating is that Carlisle has a history of being a border town used for surveillance," he said.

"The Romans would use it to keep watch of northern tribes, then likewise in medieval times.

"It’s a sheer coincidence but there seems to be a tradition of Carlisle being a centre for keeping watch on troublemakers and rebels."

Killing Thatcher was released on April 4 and is available through all major book retailers.