Daughter of IRA bomb victim backs our campaign for terror attack monument
Jo Berry's dad Sir Anthony Berry - a Tory party whip - perished along with four others in the blast at Brighton's Grand Hotel on October 12, 1984 during the Conservative Party conference
The daughter of an MP murdered in the IRA's Brighton bomb has backed the Mirror 's campaign for a monument to honour terror victims.
Jo Berry's dad Sir Anthony Berry - a Tory party whip - perished along with four others in the blast at Brighton's Grand Hotel on October 12, 1984. Members of the IRA planted an explosive device in a bid to assassinate PM Margaret Thatcher, who was staying in the seaside city with MPs and ministers for the Conservative party conference. Last night Jo, who has tirelessly campaigned for peace and conflict resolution, supported our fight for a lasting touchstone.
She said: 'It can be a long, lonely, hard journey to recover from terrorism. The pain is different to anything else because of how it happens. When I speak to anyone affected by terrorism we have an understanding and know what it means.
'I know separate memorials for some major attacks already exist, but to have one that unites us all would be very different - especially because myself and others impacted by smaller attacks don't currently have a place to go. To have somewhere where we all belong, where we can go and find that solace and peace, would be incredible.'
The Mirror-backed Place to Remember Campaign is calling on the government to erect a monument honouring all those affected by terror attacks in the UK. We are also demanding that calls for a National Remembrance Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism be urgently listened to. In March, security minister Dan Jarvis launched a consultation for a day of remembrance, which is due to close next month, but this does not include plans for a shrine.
Jo, whose father represented Enfield Southgate in North London, added: 'I would like it to be a living memorial with a garden connected to it where we can sit and take time away from the rest of the world. Having spoken to many people affected by terrorism, we all agree that closure isn't something that happens, it's how we find a place for our pain and our trauma so we can continue living the best life. I think a living memorial would really help with that.'
Sir Anthony was staying at the Grand Hotel with his second wife Sarah and their two Jack Russells when the bomb exploded at 2.54 am. He perished along with Eric Taylor, chairman of the Conservative Party in the northwest, Roberta Wakeham, wife to chief whip John Wakeham, Muriel Maclean, wife of the Scottish Conservative Association's chairman and Jeanne Shattock, wife of the party's western-area chairman.
Sarah was among 31 people seriously injured, including Margaret Tebbit, wife of Norman Tebbit, who had to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. More than three weeks before the horror, IRA volunteer Patrick Magee had checked into the hotel on Brighton's seafront under a false name and hid the bomb in the bathroom of his room, number 629.
The homemade device was fitted with a long-delay timer. When it exploded, the blast engulfed one of the two 11ft chimney stacks atop the historic hotel and ripped through several rooms.
Magee was jailed for 35 years but released in 1999 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, after serving 14 years. Thatcher was a prime target for the IRA as it saw her responsible for the deaths of 10 republicans in the 1981 hunger strike at the Maze Prison.
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