I hope he’ll be in Hell for eternity, says Tebbit

FORMER Conservative minister Norman Tebbit, whose wife Margaret was paralysed when the IRA bombed a Brighton hotel during the Conservative Party conference in 1984 said: ‘THE world is now a sweeter and cleaner place.

‘He was a coward, of course. The reason that he suddenly became a “man of peace”, as you call it, was that he was desperately afraid that he was going to be arrested and charged with a number of murders which he had personally committed.

‘It’s not merely that these creatures crippled my wife, but they also murdered five of my close friends. I only hope that his death will help to bring some sort of closure to those families and friends of those whose murder he accomplished.

‘No, there’s no parallel whatsoever [with Nelson Mandela]. Mandela’s position was that he was living in a country in which there was not a democracy. In Northern Ireland the problem for the IRA was that they couldn’t achieve their aims by democratic means. The ballot was useless to them, they always lost, so they used the bullet instead.

‘[Forgiveness] might be possible. But the first thing which would be required would be for the person taking that step to confess his sins and to seek atonement. That is essential. There can be no forgiveness without the confession of sins and penance. His personal murders, among others. And for organising the murder of many other people.

‘He knew the IRA were defeated because British intelligence had penetrated right the way up to the Army Council and that the end was coming. He then sought to save his own skin and he knew it was likely he would be charged before long with several murders which he had personally committed and he decided the only thing to do was to opt for peace.

‘He claimed to be a Roman Catholic. I hope his beliefs turn out to be true and he’ll be parked in a particularly hot and unpleasant corner of Hell for the rest of eternity.’