| The Angry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Angry Brigade Resistance Movement | |
 Logo associated with the Angry Brigade, used on the cover ofThe Angry Brigade by Gordon Carr | |
| Dates of operation | 1968–1972, 1980s |
| Active regions | England |
| Ideology | Anarcho-communism Anti-imperialism Anti-monarchism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opponents | United Kingdom United States |
TheAngry Brigade was a British terrorist group responsible for a series of armed actions against the establishment in England between 1970 and 1972. Using small bombs, they targetedbanks,embassies, aBBCOutside Broadcast vehicle, and the homes ofConservativeMembers of Parliament (MPs). In total, police attributed 25 bombings to the Angry Brigade. The bombings mostly causedproperty damage; one person was slightly injured. Of the eight people who stood trial, known as theStoke Newington Eight, four were acquitted. John Barker, along with Hilary Creek,Anna Mendelssohn and Jim Greenfield, were convicted on majority verdicts, and sentenced to ten years. In a 2014 interview, Barker described the trial as political, but acknowledged that "they framed a guilty man".[1]
In mid-1968 demonstrations took place in London, centred on the US embassy inGrosvenor Square,against US involvement in the Vietnam War. One of the organisers of these demonstrations,Tariq Ali, has said he recalls an approach by someone representing the Angry Brigade who wished to bomb the embassy; he told them it was a terrible idea and no bombing took place.[2]
The Angry Brigade decided to launch a bombing campaign with small bombs, in order to maximise media exposure to their demands while keeping collateral damage to a minimum. The campaign started in August 1970 and continued for a year until arrests took place the following summer.[3] Targets includedbanks,embassies, aBBCOutside Broadcast vehicle earmarked for use in the coverage ofthe 1970 Miss World event, and the homes ofConservativeMembers of Parliament (MPs). In total, police attributed 25 bombings to the Angry Brigade. The bombings mostly causedproperty damage; one person was slightly injured.[3]
The Angry Brigade also made two assassination attempts. On 12 January 1971, the brigade attempted to kill British Employment SecretaryRobert Carr with two bombs at his home. Although the house suffered severe damage, nobody was killed or injured.[4] A little under four months later, on 4 May 1971, a bomb was attached to the bottom ofLady Beaverbrook's car but it was discovered before it could explode, and disarmed.[citation needed]
In the 1980s, the Angry Brigade resurfaced as the Angry Brigade Resistance Movement, part of theIrish Republican Socialist Movement (IRSM).[5][6]
Jake Prescott, whose origins were in the mining community ofDunfermline, was arrested and tried in 1971.Melford Stevenson[7] sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment (later reduced to 10), mostly spent inCategory A high security prisons. Later, Prescott said he realised then that he "was the one who was angry and the people [he] met were more like the Slightly Cross Brigade".[8] The other members of the group from north-east London, the "Stoke Newington Eight", were prosecuted for carrying out bombings as the Angry Brigade in one of the longestcriminal trials of English history (it lasted from 30 May to 6 December 1972). At the conclusion of the trial, John Barker, Jim Greenfield, Hilary Creek andAnna Mendelssohn receivedprison sentences of 10 years. A number of other defendants were found not guilty, includingStuart Christie, who had previously been imprisoned inSpain for carrying explosives with the intent toassassinate the SpanishdictatorGeneral Franco, andAngela Mason who became a director of theLGBT rights groupStonewall and was awarded anOBE for services to homosexual rights.[9]
In February 2002, Prescott apologised for his role in bombingRobert Carr's house and called on other members of the Angry Brigade to also come forward.[10]
On 3 February 2002,The Guardian reported a history of the Angry Brigade and an update on what its former members were doing then.[11] On 9 August 2002,BBC Radio 4 aired Graham White's historical drama,The Trial of the Angry Brigade. Produced byPeter Kavanagh, this was a reconstruction of the trial combined with other background information. The cast includedKenneth Cranham,Juliet Stevenson,Tom Hiddleston andMark Strong.[12]
In 2009, family care activist and novelistErin Pizzey won a libel case againstMacmillan Publishers afterAndrew Marr's History of Modern Britain had falsely linked her to the Angry Brigade.[13][14] The publisher also recalled and destroyed the offending version of the book, and republished it with the error removed.[15] The link to the Angry Brigade was made in 2001, in an interview withThe Guardian, in which the article states that she was "thrown out" of the feminist movement after threatening to inform police about a planned bombing by the Angry Brigade of the clothes shopBiba. "I said that if you go on with this – they were discussing bombing Biba [the legendary department store in Kensington] – I'm going to call the police in, because I really don't believe in this".[16]
The group and trial feature inJake Arnott's 2006 novelJohnny Come Home.[17]Hari Kunzru's 2007 novelMy Revolutions is inspired by the Angry Brigade.[18]The Angry Brigade is a 2014 play by James Graham.
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