Something Has Gone Wrong Dealing with the Brighton Bomb

On12 October 1984, an IRA bomb exploded inside Brighton's Grand Hotel, killingfive people and injuring thirty. It was an assassination attempt on MargaretThatcher and her cabinet, who were staying there for the Conservative partyconference. Whilethe bombing was deplorable, the story of how people reacted to it is aninspiring one. People refused to be beaten by what had happened; they got onwith their jobs and their lives - a theme with, sadly, a strong resonance inpresent-day Britain. In SomethingHas Gone Wrong, Brighton journalist Steve Ramsey speaks to those who werethere on the day and involved in its aftermath, many of whom have never spokenpublicly about it before. His interviewees include: firemen who worked on thelong rescue operation; medics from the local hospital; police officers whorushed to the scene; detectives who played key roles in the criminalinvestigation; and cabinet ministers and high-ranking civil servants, whodescribe how the conference continued and how the government pursued businessas usual. Incorporatingfascinating new insights and information, the author has produced aportrait of this shocking event which combines narrative clarity with thevividness of oral history, and reads like a thriller.