BRIGHTON — 1984 · Major Tragedy
Brighton Grand Hotel Bombing
At 02:54 on 12 October 1984, during the Conservative Party conference, a bomb exploded at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, where Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and members of her cabinet were staying. The Provisional IRA had planted the device weeks earlier, with a long-delay timer, in the bathroom of a room booked under a false name. The middle of the building collapsed into the basement; five people died, including two senior Conservative politicians, and 31 were injured. Thatcher escaped unhurt and the conference continued the next day. The IRA member who planted the bomb received eight life sentences in 1986 and was released in 1999 under the Good Friday Agreement.
- Date
- 1984
- Place
- East Sussex, England, Brighton, UK
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- 50.8214, -0.1461 ↗
Timeline of Events
- September 1984The bomber stayed at the hotel under a false name and planted the device.
- 12 October 1984The bomb exploded; five people died and 31 were injured.
- June 1985The bomber was arrested in Glasgow.
- September 1986He received eight life sentences.
- 1999He was released under the Good Friday Agreement.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Brighton hotel bombing en.wikipedia.org ↗
- Sussex Express — Brighton bombing 40 years on sussexexpress.co.uk ↗
- Wikipedia
- Sussex Express
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.