Page 53 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

accusations of unnecessarily killing two of the five, but an inquest into the
deaths would clear the SAS of any wrongdoing. The sole remaining gunman
was prosecuted and served 27 years in British prisons. The operation brought
the SAS to the public eye for the first time and bolstered the reputation of Mrs
Thatcher.

There was controversy over the deaths of two terrorists in the telex room,
where the male hostages were held. The two SAS soldiers who killed the men
both stated at the inquest into the terrorists' deaths that they believed the
men had been reaching for weapons before they were shot. The inquest jury
reached the verdict that the soldiers' actions were justifiable homicide.

Sergeant Tommy Palmer was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his
part in the assault, in which he shot dead a terrorist who was apparently
about to throw a grenade amongst the hostages.

PC Trevor Lock was widely considered a hero and was subsequently
awarded the George Medal, the UK's second-highest civil honour, for his
bravery and for tackling Oan during the SAS raid.

The British government's response to the crisis, and the successful use of force
to end it, strengthened the Conservative government of the day and
boosted Margaret Thatcher's personal credibility. Metropolitan Police
Commissioner McNee believed that the conclusion of the siege exemplified
the British government's policy of refusing to give in to terrorist demands,
"nowhere was the effectiveness of this response to terrorism more effectively
demonstrated".

Police Radios

Back at Ryton, we were introduced to a brick-like piece
of equipment that in todays’ modern world of
technology would be a museum piece. This was 1980. It
would be another five years before the first mobile
telephone call would be made in the UK (by comedian
Ernie Wise) and another fifteen years before Nokia swept
the market making the cell phone widely available. Figure 25 Burndept Radio
No smart phones yet!

Welcome boys and girls to your only contact with your fellow officers when
out on solo patrol, your very own Burndept UHF Radio.

At 9inches x 3.1inches, weighing in at 20 ounces, it wasn’t the easiest object
to carry over a long shift or conceal. It could be worn in a harness around the
neck or waist but was more often to be seen in the top pocket of a male
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officers’ tunic.