Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Authorities had ‘guard down’ before bomb horror
Comic says Dragon costume gave her confidence to let rip on Masked Singer
AUTHORITIES let their guard down ahead of the London Docklands bombing, a man whose brother died in the attack has said.
A 3,000lb IRA explosive in a vehicle parked outside the Bashir family business exploded in February 1996 as the IRA ended an 18-month ceasefire.
Inam Bashir, 29, died in the newsagents he was working in, along with colleague John Jeffries.
Ihsan Bashir said: “A lot of questions have never been answered.
“Everyone let their guards down.”
The IRA sent him a letter saying it did not realise his brother was still in the shop but suggesting he should understand – citing the experience of the Indian subcontinent – how the republican organisation felt about imperialism, Mr Bashir said.
His added his father died from a broken heart and his mother had a mental health breakdown.
The bereaved are still waiting for compensation.
Mr Bashir said: “The people injured quite severely are still suffering.”
SUE Perkins says the Dragon costume she wore on The Masked Singer really fired up her confidence.
The former Bake Off host, 51, went out in the semi-finals on Saturday and said of performing: “I was strangely calm.
“I’ve always had a problem singing as myself – but everything felt better once I had a big mask on my head.
“I might try it in other stressful situations, like talking to traffic wardens or going to the dentist.”
Sue was unmasked as Dragon ahead of the ITV hit’s final this weekend, which will feature Sausage, Badger and Robin.
But the presenter and comic was not disappointed at her run ending and added: “It felt like I’d been very lucky to stay in so long. A long tail and cute eyes can only get you so far when you can barely hold a tune.”
Pop star Gabrielle, unmasked as Harlequin, told of being banned from talking backstage.
The 50-year-old Dreams singer said: “The secrecy was crazy, I couldn’t have imagined quite how intense it would be.
“I had to arrive at the studio in a balaclava, a hoodie that says ‘Don’t speak to me’, visor and gloves – you can’t have any skin on show at all. You aren’t allowed to talk to 99% of the people that work on the show and rely on giving a thumbs up or shake of the head when asked questions. But you get used to it and it’s fun playing the game.”
Robin, Badger and Sausage were voted through to the final by the studio audience.
And Little Britain star Matt Lucas joined the judging panel of Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross, Davina Mccall and Mo Gilligan as a guest for the week as they tried to guess the identities of the mystery acts.
Peter Andre is a new frontrunner with bookies Ladbrokes to be Badger. The Mysterious Girl singer, 47, was installed at 2/1 but US singer-songwriter Ne-yo, 41, is still the favourite at 6/4.
Joss Stone, 33, is the new 5/4 favourite to be unmasked as Sausage while former JLS star Aston Merrygold, 32, is a 1/5 odds-on bet to be Robin.
Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts, 35, won the first series of The Masked Singer, performing as Queen Bee.
The final of the second series is on Saturday at 7pm on ITV.