Tories split over Europe but Channel Tunnel brings UK one step closer

This week in 1990 anddivisions in the Conservative Party over Europe were highlighted by the Prime Minister’s bitter opposition to an imposed single European currency.

Her declaration that she will not preside over the abolition of sterling was set to expose the Tories deep uncertainties on Europe not only within the party but also within the cabinet. In a withering attack, she accused the other EC leaders of living in “cloud cuckoo land”.

Also this week six soldiers were killed in Northern Ireland as the Irish Republican Army introduced a cruel tactic to its escalated terror campaign.

Three civilians were condemed to die when the IRA forced them to drive huge bombs to security check points and installations in the hours. Somehow, two escaped with their lives. The third “proxy bomb” driver was presumed dead. The Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Brooke, said the terrorists had “sunk to new levels of depravity by using people who families have been held hostage as human bombs”.

The United Nations Security Council dramatically raised the stakes in the Gulf crisis this week with a warning that Iraq would be held responsible for war damages.

It asked states to draw up lists detailing financial losses and mistreatment of civilians arising from Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait. The resolution demanded an end to all hostage taking and to the destruction of property by Iraqi forces in Kuwait and said Baghdad must resupply food and water to foreigners and to the few embassies still operating in Kuwait.

And also this week British and French excavators made history with the first breakthrough in the Channel Tunnel.

The link up between the multi-billion pound tunnels being dug from both sides of the Channel came at 7.30pm when a huge French boring machine met a two-inch diameter bore hole from the British end of the project.

The Channel Tunnel