Jo Berry, the daughter of an MP killed in an IRA hotel bombing, said terror victims and families “deserve better” and called for more support.
Jo Berry was 27 when her father Sir Anthony Berry died after the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb inside the Grand Hotel in Brighton. The 1984 Conservative Party conference was being held at the site and the prime target was Margaret Thatcher, who escaped uninjured. Four other people died and 34 were injured in the terror attack. Patrick Magee had planted a timed bomb under a bath panel at the hotel and was sentenced to 35 years behind bars, but was released after serving 13 years following the Good Friday Agreement.
First national day for victims and survivors of terrorism
The MP's daughter spoke about her long fight for support on the UK's first national day for victims and survivors of terrorism.
Today marks the first National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism – a date chosen to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism – which will be a national day to remember victims and survivors.
A ceremony in central London later on Friday will bring together hundreds of victims, survivors, bereaved families, emergency responders and Government representatives, who will observe a two-minute silence.
Call for mental health support and compensation
Jo Berry, speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, called the national day “extraordinary” and shared what it means to her. She said: “Today is an extraordinary day, we are going to meet in London for the first time. It feels like we matter and that people care about us and it’s going to be very moving and just very amazing.”
The MP's daughter revealed the lack of support she and other people impacted by the 1984 terror attack had at the time, but revealed how a new terrorism support hub would help today.
She said: “I was shocked when I discovered that people weren’t getting any mental health support back in 1984. There was no support but things didn't change and now we have this hub totally aligned for us, the terrorism support hub, where there will people a way of people getting mental health, even those who have had to wait 20 years, 30 years.”
Jo also called for more compensation for survivors and victims' families following terror attacks, saying: “There are still areas which we're having to work on and one of them is definitely compensation. There's some countries in Europe where it is automatic, there is just a way through. Also, asking for immediate financial assistance, because people need that straight away.
She added: “When we are affected by terrorism, it's so huge the trauma on many many levels and people deserve to get the ongoing support.”
Journey of forgiveness and ongoing need
Jo made the decision to forgive Magee after he was released in 1999 and the two became friends, working together to promote peace and reconciliation. The MP's daughter, speaking to Somerset Live last year, said: “The hardest thing I chose to do was build the bridge with Patrick Magee, the man who killed my dad. And rather than blaming him, I listened to him.” While Jo struck a friendship with her father's killer her other family members have not.
When asked this morning about her continued work for terror victims and families Jo revealed the journey “is very lonely” and said she didn't meet someone in the same situation as her for over a decade. She said: “I care too much you know, I know what the journey is like. It is very lonely, it can be so lonely.
“It took me like 12 years before I met anyone who'd been affected by terrorism apart from my family and there is something about meeting people who understand. So, people deserve better they're promised so so much and then it just doesn't happen.
“And I have heard too many stories from Manchester Arena, even from 7/7 I did a report on 20 years on. The kind of support they got was not adequate so now we have people who are absolutely equipped to know what it means to give trauma support. And I think we are changing things, it’s been slow but I am very grateful for those that have cared enough to put the policies in place to make it happen and today it is a success and there is more we need to do.”
