Remarks following walkabout in Perth (IRA bomb at Mill Hill) [including short press briefing by Bernard Ingham]

[(1) Text from tape THCR10/3/15 Tape 1 Side 1]

Extract One

Bernard Ingham

… the Prime Minister was told of the explosion at the Army barracks in Mill Hill during … just after she'd opened the Rolls-Royce factory. She was informed that there was one dead nine in hospital, two seriously injured and six still trapped in a kitchen-accommodation block. Not known whether it was a gas leak or a bomb. She immediately sent through Private Office in London a message of … saying she was deeply distressed to hear the news, awaiting anxiously for further information, sent deepest sympathy to relatives and those who have been injured.

I told the press here in Australia about it and they are aware of it. It's not in the Prime Minister's constituency, it's on the edge of it. She believes that it is in fact the headquarters of the Army Postal Service. [Tape section ends] We're going to be all right. We are taking off.

Extract Two

[Much background chatter, as from a crowd]

MT

… get through here

Australian journalist

Why has it taken you so long to get here?

MT

It's taken me so long to get here. You mean I should have come to Perth before? I rather agree since I've been here! It's the first time we've been to Perth, but we've been five times to Australia.

Australian journalist

Do you have a message to those people outside who don't appear to like you Mrs Thatcher?

MT

Oh it was such a small number and I should say to them, support the Anglo-Irish Agreement! I should say support the Anglo-Irish Agreement and really there was such a tiny number. Did you not look at all thousands and thousands, who gave one a terrific welcome.

Australian journalist

Prime Minister, Prime Minister. Can we just ask about this explosion in

MT

… never support the IRA, never support the IRA. They tried to pursue their ends by maiming and murder

Australian journalist

Prime Minister. Can I just ask about the explosion at the barracks in London? Do you know anything about this yet?

MT

(02:08):

I don't know anything more than you do. I have sent a message to say that I'm very distressed to hear about it. It's on the edge of my constituency and that I anxiously await further news.

Australian journalist

(02:18):

Do you know if there's any terrorist involvement?

MT

(02:21):

I have no idea other than there has been an explosion and I understand that one person, if that is correct, has been killed and there are several injured and I'm awaiting further news, but I haven't had time to get back to telephone.

Australian journalist

(02:36):

Did you feel you were taking a risk by walking through the mall and those people?

MT

(02:39):

No, no. Not in any way. Not in any way. I always go walkabouts wherever I go. And

Australian journalist

(02:46):

What message were you trying to put across?

MT

(02:46):

It was very, very good that I did - look at the number of people who were there. I thought the message in this shop was really absolutely terrific: “Be Australian and look Australian”. I think that's a marvellous message for bicentennial year. I'm quite right. All right. Someone at the back? Speaker 4 (03:03):

What are your first impressions of Australia?

MT

(03:06):

Well, Perth is a lovely city. I always knew it was because it just has that reputation when you see it. It's absolutely beautiful And of course for us it's wonderful to come to a city where there is plenty of land and lots of open space. But also the architecture is lovely. Both the new and the old. We are very impressed.

Australian journalist

(03:25):

Prime Minister. When you talk about reviving relations with Australia, what have you really got in mind there?

MT

(03:30):

I think getting much closer. I think in the last 10 years the world really has become very much smaller. Trade is international. Investment is international. We all travel around much more. Politicians go and see and talk to one another much more. Australia … [pauses] is rather far away from Britain, but it's getting closer because of the communications and I really think that we must have more visits from politicians and from industries than we've had in the past. We must just step it up.

Australian journalist

(04:02):

We've neglected them a bit. Have we?

MT

(04:04):

Well I don't say I think that we – I think we haven't been as close as once we were and we wish to renew that closeness and revive it.

[crowd noises]

MT

(04:19):

To get in the eye of the media and stopping most people from actually seeing. You think that's a pity You've seen them many times but you haven't been. Yes, I've seen it here before. I went to do a university last time I was here. Speaker 4 (04:31): You think it's a pity you haven't been able?

[Extract 3]

Unidentified speaker

(04:38):

Now these are enemy ships which will normally be going at speeds as determined for the exercise. Depending on what speed they go, the various characteristics such as the bow wave at the front and the stern wave will be generated by the computer. [Denis Thatcher: Incredible] If you just like to bring it up close and show the identification, which the C.O. may be looking for. This is HMS Perth and one of the things that you will look for is a blackboard radar. You see that's more quite [words indistinct], right? [Denis Thatcher: Right, right.] And you can see all the shading and so forth on the funnel to give you the impression of 3D.

Now the amount of computing power, which is required to do this is quite phenomenal. You've seen there the wire access out more or less complete?

MT

(05:29):

Yes. From each angle.

Unidentified speaker

(05:33):

And that's the … so there you see the bow wave, you take it back again. (05:41):

And that particular model, we repeat that exercise for all the models which the customer may require and what we have provided, because of course countries now tend to be very security conscious and various countries are reluctant to release security information to one another. We provide the tools so that the Royal Australian Navy can independently build up these models with their radar characteristics, with their ESI characteristics. And this is quite useful. I think we probably have to move on, I think.

MT

Yes.

Unidentified speaker

Well we used to make them out.

MT

Yes.

Unidentified speaker

And one of the features extremely the ranging is done by the C.O. splitting the image, effectively positioning one part of the ship above the other part and then doing a triangulation on it by the mass height. So you can imagine because in fact the mass height effectively is quite small compared to overall distance. So this extremely we've being development [words indistinct] and indeed we have sold it into the United States Navy Trident submarine programme

[indistinct words]

MT

(07:08):

Oh, have we always running over? I am very sorry. Thank you very much. Thank you.

[(2) Thatcher MSS (Churchill Archive Centre): THCR [COI transcript]

Question

Mrs. Thatcher, why has it taken you so long to get here?

Prime Minister

Taken me so long to get here! You mean I should have come to Perth before? I rather agree since I have been here.

It is the first time we have been to Perth, but we have been five times to Australia.

Question

What about a message to those people outside who do not appear to like you, Mrs. Thatcher, particularly Irish people?

Prime Minister

Oh well, they were such a small number.

I should say to them: “Support the Anglo-Irish Agreement!” and really, they were such a tiny number. Did you not look at all the thousands and thousands who gave one a terrific welcome?

Question

Prime Minister, can we just ask about this explosion…

Prime Minister

…   . never support the IRA. They try to pursue their ends by maiming and murder.

Question

Prime Minister, can I just ask about the explosion at the barracks in London. Do you know anything about this yet?

Prime Minister

I do not know anything more than you do. I have sent a message to say that I am very distressed to hear about it—it is on the edge of my constituency—and that I anxiously await further news.

Question

Do you know if there is any terrorist involvement?

Prime Minister

I have no idea, other than that there has been an explosion and I understand that one person, if that is correct, has been killed and there are several injured and I am awaiting further news, but I have not had time to get back to telephone.

Question

Did you feel you were taking a risk by walking through the Mall and those people?

Prime Minister

No, not in any way. [end p1]

Question

Was it your choice that you should do so?

Prime Minister

I always go walkabouts wherever I go, always, and it is very very good that I did. Look at the number of people who were there!

I thought the message in this shop was really absolutely terrific, you know, “Be Australian and Look Australian!” I think that is a marvellous message for a bicentennial year—quite right!

Question

What are your views of Australia?

Prime Minister

Well, Perth is a lovely city. I always knew it was because it just has that reputation. When you see it, it is absolutely beautiful and, of course, for us it is wonderful to come to a city where there is plenty of land and lots of open space and also the architecture is lovely, both the new and the old. We are very impressed!

Question

Prime Minister, when you talked about reviving relations with Australia, what had you really got in mind then?

Prime Minister

I think getting much closer. I think in the last ten years the world really has become very much smaller. Trade is international, investment is international, we all travel around much more, politicians go and see and talk to one another much more.

Australia is rather far away from Britain, but it is getting closer because of the communications and I really think that we must have more visits from politicians and from industrialists than we have had in the past. We must just step it up.

Question

We have neglected them a bit, have we?

Prime Minister

No. I think that we have not been as close as once we were and we wish to renew that closeness and revive it.