The Guildford Four | Day Trips to the Moon | 1

Gerry Conlon escapes Belfast hoping London will offer freedom, work and a bit of fun. Instead, an IRA bombing plunges the country into panic - and in Britain's hunt for justice, Gerry becomes the perfect suspect. This 20-year-old has just been swept up in one of Britain's most shocking wrongful convictions. Do you have a suggestion for a scandal you would like us to cover? Or perhaps you have a question you would like to ask our hosts? Email us at [email protected] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Alice Levine?

  Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of British Scandal ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. This episode contains strong language, descriptions of bomb scenes, and police violence. Listener discretion is advised. What the hell do you think you're up to?

• 0:18Matt Forde?

  I'm just coming here to work.

• 0:20Alice Levine?

  Who are you?

• 0:21Matt Forde?

  Alice, I'm Matt, I'm your colleague.

• 0:24Alice Levine?

  Yeah, you're also a 43-year-old white guy from Nottingham.

• 0:27Matt Forde?

  I am, yes.

• 0:28Alice Levine?

  You 100% fit the bill for a lot of bad stuff that's been going down around these parts.

• 0:34Matt Forde?

  Look, just because some 43-year-old white men from Nottingham do bad things, it doesn't mean all of us do.

• 0:41Alice Levine?

  Well, that's all I got to work on, so I have profiled you.

• 0:44Matt Forde?

  Okay, well, that feels slightly prejudicial.

• 0:47Alice Levine?

  Okay, I've seen the error of my ways. You're right, I came in a bit heavy-handed, and I feel like I owe you an apology. And I was just, I was just trying to find the bad guys.

• 0:56Matt Forde?

  Alice, don't worry. I realise you've got a job to do. It's not easy, and I'm used to it, so it's cool. Um, just on a separate point, could I hide this bag of guns down there?

• 1:09Alice Levine?

  Saturday, the 5th of October, 1974. Guildford Police Station. Detective Chief Superintendent Wally Simmons rubs his eyes. He's just put in a 10-hour shift, and he's exhausted. He crushes out his cigarette. He's just about to head out when one of his sergeants bursts through the door. Horse and Groom Pub, sir, North Street. Wally sighs. He knows it well. He's tired of having to step in and break up fights between drunken soldiers, but he grabs his jacket.

• 1:44Matt Forde?

  This already feels like so long ago, doesn't it? Cops doing 10-hour shifts, cigarettes, soldiers fighting in pubs. It was a better time.

• 1:54Alice Levine?

  He jumps into his car.

• 1:59Alice Levine?

  Switches on his sirens.

• 2:02Alice Levine?

  The noise usually scares the brawlers before he's arrived. But as he nears the scene, he spots a plume of dark, acrid smoke in the air.

• 2:13Alice Levine?

  He turns the corner and stares in horror. The whole pub building is buckled.

• 2:23Alice Levine?

  Inside is a charred, smoldering wreck. People stagger out, burned, blood-soaked, and shocked.

• 2:32Alice Levine?

  The stench of chemicals and charred flesh hits him like a punch to the gut, as he realises, this is a bomb attack. He races inside, the air thick with dust and smoke. He can just make out four, maybe five, charred bodies in the wreckage. He feels his stomach turn. He looks down. A young woman, her face bloodied, reaches up to him. He drops by her side. Oh, Christ. Her legs are gnarled, bloody mess of flesh and bare bone. He takes off his tie, tries to stem the bleeding, looks around in desperation. We need a paramedic over here.

• 3:16Alice Levine?

  Outside, he doubles over, gulps in the dusty air, feels his eyes pricked with tears. In all his 29 years in the police force, he's never seen anything like this. He pushes through the crowd to his sergeant. Why wasn't the pub evacuated? The man's eyebrows arch up. No warning given, sir. Wally freezes. The IRA always calls ahead, giving civilians a chance to escape. He straightens up, tightens his jaw as five body bags are wheeled out. If they're not playing by the rules anymore, then neither will he. He'll do whatever it takes to hunt these murdering Irish scumbags down.

• 4:01Alice Levine?

  And when he gets his hands on them, he'll make them wish they'd never been born.

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• 5:45Alice Levine?

  From Audible, I'm Alice Levine.

• 5:48Matt Forde?

  And I'm Matt Ford.

• 5:49Alice Levine?

  And this is British Scandal, the show where we bring you the murkier stories that ever happened on these odd little isles.

• 5:55Matt Forde?

  British scandals come in many shapes and sizes. Some are about money, some are about sex. They're all about power.

• 6:01Alice Levine?

  But when we look at scandals a bit closer, they turn out to be stranger, wilder, just plain weirder than we remember.

• 6:08Matt Forde?

  So we're journeying back to ask who's to blame for what happened.

• 6:11Alice Levine?

  And when the dust settled, did anything really change?

• 6:25Alice Levine?

  Okay, today, Matt, we are doing a story set in possibly the most pivotal year in British and Irish history.

• 6:32Matt Forde?

  Okay, 1994, when the Irish qualify for the World Cup and we don't. And Ray Houghton scores that absolute screamer against Italy.

• 6:39Alice Levine?

  What would you do if I said yes, it's that?

• 6:41Matt Forde?

  I'd be delighted.

• 6:42Alice Levine?

  Okay, well, it's not, and it's probably something, dare I say, more important.

• 6:46Matt Forde?

  Okay, I'm struggling to think what it might be.

• 6:48Alice Levine?

  Okay, really? No more guesses. Well, we are talking about the troubles, and specifically, we're talking about a moment two years after Bloody Sunday. It's 1974, the troubles have spilled onto the mainland. The IRA are bombing London. So people are avoiding public places, pubs, transport, public hubs. And the government is under huge pressure from the press and the public to catch bombers.

• 7:10Matt Forde?

  Yeah, because things were bad enough as it was. There'd been years of violence between Republican paramilitaries like the IRA and loyalists like the UVF, not to mention the role of the British Army in Ireland. And incredibly, things are now escalating.

• 7:23Alice Levine?

  And those conditions, a scared Britain, an angry Britain, a Britain suspicious of anybody, basically, with an Irish accent, sets the scene for our story, the biggest miscarriage of justice, possibly in British history. This is episode one, Day Trips to the Moon.

• 7:47Alice Levine?

  Two months earlier, September, 1974, Belfast.

• 7:53Alice Levine?

  20-year-old Gerry Conlon picks up a transistor radio from the shelf. He flicks a glance towards the shopkeeper, looks away, then slips the radio into his torn sheepskin jacket and bolts out the door.

• 8:09Alice Levine?

  Aye, you thieving little- Gerry darts down the street, jumps over a broken wall covered in IRA slogans, crouches amongst the bombed-out rubble. He holds his breath, heart thumping. He starts creeping across a patch of wasteland when a black zephyr screeches in front of him.

• 8:31Alice Levine?

  A door flies open. Two pairs of hands grab him, haul him inside.

• 8:39Alice Levine?

  Car's in trouble again, Conlon. Gerry feels sick. For one glorious second, he thought it was the RUC.

• 8:47Matt Forde?

  It says a lot about where Gerry is in his life, that having just stolen from a shop, he would rather see the police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, than whoever this guy is.

• 8:56Alice Levine?

  Yeah, what's he messed up in?

• 8:59Matt Forde?

  Also, a real sign of the times, because they're not called the RUC anymore. They're called the PSNI, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, in the wake of the Belfast Agreement, the Good Friday Agreement. They felt, probably correctly, that having the word royal in there gave the impression that the police might favour one side of the sectarian divide. So even though they still wear police uniforms, and some of the insignia will bear the crown, the word royal is now gone.

• 9:24Alice Levine?

  Inside the car, the man pulls Gerry's face close. This is our patch. We don't want no trouble in it. And we don't want any RUC men sniffing around, looking for thieving little rats like you. Gerry stares at the IRA man, hears himself gasp in fear as the man takes a pistol from his jacket. He shuts his eyes as the muzzle digs into his forehead. He wants to tell him they'll stop, but his throat is dry, tight with fear. He winces as the gun moves down to his kneecap. He hears the catch click, but the gun's back between his eyes. He sits rigid, his heart pounding in his chest.

• 10:09Alice Levine?

  If we catch you again, Conlon, you know what'll happen. Gerry's body smacks hard on the road.

• 10:19Alice Levine?

  He staggers to his feet, looks down at the smashed radio. He touches his head. His long, dark hair is sticky with blood.

• 10:33Alice Levine?

  An hour later, he sits in the kitchen as his ma'am dabs the cut on his head. Good God, Gerry, they could have killed you. They beat that kid on the falls road so badly, he'll never be right again. He starts to tell his mum she worries too much, when his dad snaps at him. Your mother's right. And what the hell were you doing stealing anyway?

• 10:56Matt Forde?

  Finally, someone is going to tell him off for being a thief.

• 11:00Alice Levine?

  Yes, I hear what you're saying, although he is a young lad in the 70s in Belfast, and he's Catholic, so he's living under curfew. They're denied jobs, they're subject to stop and search by the British Army. So, no, he shouldn't steal, but prospects for a young Catholic lad, right now, not great.

• 11:19Matt Forde?

  I knew you were going to take your side, because you never really left Radio 1, and you think...

• 11:26Alice Levine?

  Where's this going?

• 11:26Matt Forde?

  The more radio's out there, the better for your Raja figures.

• 11:30Alice Levine?

  Gerry looks away. The truth is, he can't bear the disappointment on his dad's face, or the fear in his mother's voice. Nobody wants to say it out loud, but as far as the IRA are concerned, they all know he's now a marked man.

• 11:48Matt Forde?

  Which is terrifying, because once you're on the IRA's radar, that's basically it. This is a group of people who act on their threats.

• 11:55Alice Levine?

  And they are so powerful, the most powerful force in the country, not some random vigilantes. And as you say, their reputation precedes them, obviously, so he will know. Gerry will have seen people get violently maimed for doing probably less than he's done. And actually, he's got off lightly, because they haven't shot him in the knees. But he knows that his days are numbered.

• 12:20Alice Levine?

  He watches his dad reach into the cupboard, hands over a roll of notes from a tin. The housekeeping money, almost everything they have. You get the first ferry out tomorrow. Gerry hangs his head as his dad tells him. I'll ring your aunt Annie in Kilburn. Tell her you're on your way. I should say, Giuseppe worked on the docks in Belfast, and his job was spraying the ships with paint. And you can imagine, the paint in 1970s Belfast, baby, that is some toxic stuff.

• 12:54Matt Forde?

  It's just white lead.

• 12:55Alice Levine?

  And you might as well just spray it into your mouth, because they didn't give him a mask. And that's why he sounds like that, he's got TB. Gerry feels his face flush with shame. He looks at the money in his hand. It should be going towards his dad's medicines, food for his sisters. He wants to tell them he's sorry for all the trouble he's caused. Instead, he takes a deep breath and decides he's going to sort himself out, start again in London. They are sacrificing their health, their future, to save him. And for maybe the first time ever, he's determined to make them proud.

• 13:40Alice Levine?

  A few weeks later, North London.

• 13:45Alice Levine?

  Gerry heaves a heavy bucket along the scaffold plank, feels his knuckles ache with the early morning cold. He's been working on this construction site for a few weeks now, renovating an old block of flats. It's tough work, but he doesn't mind. He eases his back, takes in the grey London skyline. He turns to the old guy next to him. Can you spare me a smoke there, fella? The man glares at him. Buy your own, you filthy Mick.

• 14:13Matt Forde?

  Okay, so that guy's racist. For the uninitiated, for non-British listeners, Mick was a racial slur against Irish people, a bit like Paddy.

• 14:20Alice Levine?

  Gerry bites his lip. This guy's been muttering about the Irish taking English jobs since he started. Gerry ignores him, instead climbs back down the ladder, ready to fill his empty bucket with mortar.

• 14:35Alice Levine?

  A brick crashes to the floor inches from his boot. He looks up, sees the old guy smirking. Get frightened, did you? You should be used to loud bangs, you lot. Gerry snaps, he charges up the ladder, grabs the man by the throat. You could have fucking killed me. Oi, Paddy! He spins, sees the foreman rushing towards him. No fighting, I told you. Gerry starts to protest, but realises the foreman has already made his decision. Go get your wages and don't fucking come back.

• 15:09Matt Forde?

  Obviously, we're judging these men retrospectively for their bigotry, but the context at the time was quite complicated.

• 15:15Alice Levine?

  Yeah, particularly in this moment. About a year ago, the IRA moved from just bombing Northern Ireland to setting off bombs in London, because the media attention they were getting was not sufficient. And so there's genuine fear and anger about Irish people, which is topping an already anti-Irish sentiment from the 50s and 60s.

• 15:35Matt Forde?

  Yeah, and we've been through this in the wake of 9/11 and 7/7. You saw what the Muslim community went through in the UK. You can see how people just start to suspect their neighbours a bit more. You know, that there are certain triggers for some of our darker thoughts at times like this.

• 15:54Alice Levine?

  An hour later, he sits in an Irish pub in Kilburn. He thought London would be different, that he'd be able to leave the bigotry behind, leave the shadow of the IRA. But right now, it feels as unsafe as Belfast. He drains half his pint in one go. He'll have to tell his aunt Annie he's lost his job. Even worse, he'll have to tell his dad. Yeddy drunken Irish bastard! Gerry flinches as a man shouts at him from across the pub. He glares up at a thin-faced guy with long hippie hair. His body tenses, ready for a fight, when he realises it's his mate from school, Paul Hill. He jumps up, gives Paul a bear hug.

• 16:39Alice Levine?

  You hippie loser, sit there, I'll get you a Guinness.

• 16:50Alice Levine?

  Five hours later, Gerry staggers to his feet, drains the last of his pint. I have to go. My aunt Annie will have a rotary out. Paul snorts. Oh, come on. Gerry sways unsteadily. He doesn't really want to leave. It's the most fun he's had since he arrived in London. Besides, Annie's got so many house rules he can't keep up. Church on Sundays, grace before meals. Paul hands him a cigarette. Why don't you take a room at the hostel I'm in? It's full of young guys from Belfast, it's good crack.

• 17:24Alice Levine?

  I don't know.

• 17:26Matt Forde?

  I do, don't go. A room full of guys at a hostel, you wouldn't get any sleep.

• 17:32Alice Levine?

  Paul opens a tobacco tin. Gerry looks down at some freshly rolled joints. He feels a smile break out. He knows his dad will kill him for this, but Paul's right. The whole of London is out there, waiting for him. He can face the music another day. Right now, it's time he threw himself into what this city has to offer. He looks at Paul and grins. Lead on.

• 18:04Alice Levine?

  A few weeks later, Hope House, Kilburn.

• 18:08Alice Levine?

  Gerry skips up the stairs to Paul's room, enjoying the feel of his new flares and platform boots. He and Paul both bought outfits in Camden last week.

• 18:17Matt Forde?

  Been to Cyberdog.

• 18:18Alice Levine?

  He's been living in Paul's hostel for a few weeks, and he's finally starting to feel like he's found his tribe. He's hitting the town with Paul tonight, meeting up with another mate from Belfast and his girlfriend.

• 18:33Alice Levine?

  He peers at a young pale-faced guy in a Fred Perry shirt and pork pie hat. He just knows him as Paul the Greengrocer. He's not here, Gerry, he's gone. Gerry's shoulders drop.

• 18:46Alice Levine?

  To the swap party? He said we'd go together. Paul the Greengrocer holds up his hands. I don't know, Gerry, he just packed a bag and went. He just said he needed to get out of London for a while. Gerry spits out. He's left London, fuck off. Paul the Greengrocer hands him a can. I'm not the one that fucking bailed on you. Gerry takes a swig from the can, looks at Paul the Greengrocer in his dark green trousers and ox-blood Doc Martens. He's not sure if he's actually a greengrocer, or if he's just called that because he wears green. You fancy the pub then? But Paul the Greengrocer shakes his head. I'm skin, Gerry, but... He holds up a tobacco tin. I've got Paul's stash.

• 19:26Alice Levine?

  Gerry collapses on the bed and takes a deep drag. Blows a plume of smoke up the cracked ceiling. He turns on the television, hoping to catch Top of the Pops, but instead, here's Mary Whitehouse's tedious voice blaring out into the room.

• 19:41Speaker 05

  I will not allow smut, blasphemy and violence.

• 19:45Matt Forde?

  And if you want to hear more of that, you can go back and listen to our whole series on Mary Whitehouse.

• 19:50Alice Levine?

  You can indeed, and I think you will find that the voice is very consistent.

• 19:55Speaker 05

  News just in. An IRA attack has left five people dead and many more injured, after a bomb exploded in a crowded pub this evening.

• 20:05Alice Levine?

  Gerry leans forward as he takes in the scenes on the television. A stream of wounded people emerge from the blackened ruins of a pub, while medics run in with stretchers. He watches the screen fill with a grim-looking, thin-faced detective, his hair and clothes covered in grey dust.

• 20:23Speaker 05

  I have a clear message for the perpetrators of this cowardly attack. We will find you, and we will bring you to justice. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, condemned the bombing as a mindless savage attack on an innocent civilian population.

• 20:42Alice Levine?

  Gerry feels his stomach knot, he stares at the blank screen. If London is no safer than Belfast, if he can barely afford to eat, if his only friend is missing, maybe he has to admit that London is finished with him too.

• 21:08Alice Levine?

  A few days later, Guildford Police Station. A journalist's voice crackles down the phone.

• 21:15Speaker 06

  Do you have any suspects, Detective? How close are you to an arrest, sir?

• 21:18Alice Levine?

  Wally stares at the evidence board. Photos of the pub, the victims, maps. But they're nowhere near an arrest.

• 21:26Speaker 06

  What can we tell our readers to make them feel safe?

• 21:29Matt Forde?

  That they can get a holiday for nine quid. That tends to do it, front of most tabloids.

• 21:34Alice Levine?

  Wally feels his knuckles tighten as he grips the receiver. He snaps. We're still gathering evidence. You'll be informed soon enough. He sits down and lights a cigarette. He already knows the devastation the bomb caused. The floor was blown clean through to the cellar. Five people are dead, dozens more in hospital. Skimming through the forensics report, he rubs his aching forehead. A device fitted with timers from a pocket watch. The bomb had been small and light. Something that could have been carried under an arm or in a bag and planted. It tells him everything except the one thing he needs. Who planted it?

• 22:16Alice Levine?

  The IRA have claimed responsibility, but that's it. Witnesses saw an Irish couple leave before the blast, but no one can say what they looked like.

• 22:31Alice Levine?

  Detective Chief Superintendent Simmons.

• 22:34Speaker 06

  I know who did the bombings. Try Hope House Hostel, Kilburn.

• 22:40Alice Levine?

  Who is this?

• 22:43Alice Levine?

  Wally lowers the receiver. He's had so many tip-offs over the past few days, he's lost count. Every single one has been a dead end. He has no idea if this one is real. But something in his gut tells him he should check it out.

• 23:06Alice Levine?

  Two hours later, he marches into the hostel. Takes in the peeling paint, the threadbare carpets and tattered curtains.

• 23:14Matt Forde?

  I'll take your finest room.

• 23:16Alice Levine?

  The suite, please. He barks at his officers to search all the rooms. A young man rushes from a small office to meet him. May I ask what all this is to do with? Wally takes in his neat hair, iron shirt, his dog collar. He shoves a search warrant into the priest's face. Obstruct me and I'll arrest you.

• 23:36Matt Forde?

  And also with you.

• 23:48Alice Levine?

  But two and a half hours later, his men have found nothing. He lights a cigarette, rubs the bridge of his nose. Another wasted afternoon. Wally tries to figure out his next move when his deputy rushes in. Sir, just got off a call to Bomb Squad. They've had this place under surveillance for months, monitoring an active IRA unit.

• 24:16Alice Levine?

  Wally turns slowly to the terrified priest. Then his eyes drift past him to the register on his desk. He snatches it up, runs a finger down the logs, and stops at the name of a man who checked out just before the bombing. He looks up. What do you know about this man? He's just a quiet lad from Belfast. Works on building sites.

• 24:39Matt Forde?

  What else is he gonna say? Yeah, he's a terrorist, that one. Yeah, that one makes the bombs. He lights the fuse. That one loves a balaclava.

• 24:46Alice Levine?

  And he is an artist. Who did he mix with? The priest takes the book, points at a name. Uh, mostly this man. But he's back home now. Said he's had enough of London. Wally's jaw pulses. It can't be a coincidence they left just after that bomb was planted. His eyes return to the two names. Paul Hill and Gerry Conlon. He's sure he's got his men.

• 25:18Alice Levine?

  And he'll move heaven and earth to find them.

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• 25:38Matt Forde?

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• 26:14Alice Levine?

  29th of November, 1974, Belfast. Gerry lies in his childhood bedroom, stares at his faded poster of George Best, then down at the job vacancies in the local paper. Right now, his whole family are out at work. His mam, his dad, his two sisters. He has to find a job soon. He throws the paper down. There's nothing. His dad's been on at him every day, calling him soft and lazy for giving up on London too quickly. Coming back feels like a bad mistake. He sits bolt upright.

• 26:52Speaker 07

  Gerry!

• 26:53Alice Levine?

  His dad bursts through the door.

• 26:55Speaker 07

  How do you know Paul Hill?

• 26:58Alice Levine?

  Gerry frowns. He certainly wasn't expecting that.

• 27:02Speaker 07

  What about him?

• 27:03Alice Levine?

  His dad clutches the doorframe, struggles to get his breath.

• 27:06Speaker 07

  He's been arrested. They're saying he planted that bomb in Guildford. It can't be true, Gerry.

• 27:12Alice Levine?

  He jolts like he's stepped onto an electric current. Paul? A terrorist? Paul hates the Provost. Paul's a hippie? His mind scrambles to make sense of it. His eyes dart across the floor. His dad grabs his t-shirt, shoves him back.

• 27:30Speaker 07

  Tell me you weren't mixed up in this.

• 27:32Alice Levine?

  Gerry shrugs him away.

• 27:34Speaker 07

  I swear.

• 27:35Alice Levine?

  But his voice sounds strangled as it trails away. His dad's staring at him, ashen-faced with fear.

• 27:43Speaker 07

  I hope to God you're right. I won't have anybody pointing fingers at this family.

• 27:52Alice Levine?

  Gerry sinks back, stares into space, sees an image of himself back at the hostel,

• 28:00Alice Levine?

  watching the news of the bombing.

• 28:04Alice Levine?

  The same day that Paul disappeared.

• 28:10Alice Levine?

  His skin breaks into a clammy sweat. His heart smacks in his ribs. He needs a beer to calm himself down.

• 28:28Alice Levine?

  He pulls open the refrigerator when he spots a shadow at the window. He holds his breath as it edges closer. Then he reels back in horror as he realizes the whole room's pulsing with blue light.

• 28:44Alice Levine?

  Police! A group of men barge in. An RUC officer slams him against the wall.

• 28:50Speaker 07

  On your knees, now! I've done nothing wrong!

• 28:54Alice Levine?

  He blinks up at the policeman. He's got five British soldiers with him, all pointing guns in his face. His body stiffens with shock. Someone grabs his arms, handcuffs him.

• 29:07Alice Levine?

  He hears his dad's frantic voice.

• 29:08Speaker 07

  Where are you taking my son?

• 29:11Alice Levine?

  But they've already dragged him into the street. Gerry hears his mum crying as he's forced into a van and feels a sickening crunch as a rifle butt is slammed into his face.

• 29:21Speaker 07

  Fucking animal!

• 29:23Alice Levine?

  And then he slips into darkness.

• 29:29Matt Forde?

  This isn't even really an arrest. If the army in the 70s are getting hold of someone that they suspect is an IRA terrorist, I think it's fair to say that at that point, you would be deeply concerned that a full and proper process is not about to unfold.

• 29:45Alice Levine?

  I mean, you might as well have been kidnapped by gangsters. They are likely gonna torture you, for want of a better word. And they're not necessarily trying to find the truth. They are trying to find confirmation for their bias. You are guilty till proven innocent?

• 29:59Matt Forde?

  Which, as you always say off-mic, is the way around it should be.

• 30:02Alice Levine?

  Stand by it on-mic.

• 30:05Alice Levine?

  A week later, Guildford Police Station, Surrey. Gerry gasps as his face is pushed against a wall. He feels a searing pain as he's punched in his back. He's been pissing blood for two days, but they keep aiming at his kidneys. He hears his own exhausted voice mumble.

• 30:24Speaker 07

  I don't know anything.

• 30:26Alice Levine?

  He hears the man in charge, Simmons, order them to stop. He's thrown into a chair, lets his head drop as he tries to breathe. He's lost count of how many days he's been here. He's hardly had any food or water since he arrived. He's been trying to make them understand he isn't in the IRA and he hasn't bombed anyone, that he hates the IRA. Simmons barks at him. Let's try again, son. Who helped you make the bombs? He tries not to cry as he mutters into the table.

• 30:58Speaker 07

  Mister, I swear I don't know anything about any bombs. I'm unemployed, a petty thief.

• 31:06Alice Levine?

  He holds his breath, waits for the blows. But one of the plainclothes men takes out a gun. He closes his swollen eyes, starts to pray under his breath as the cold metal presses against his forehead.

• 31:20Speaker 07

  Mister, please.

• 31:22Alice Levine?

  He holds his breath. But then the door swings open. For a moment, everything stops. He half wonders if his dad has finally shown up. Instead, two burly men are dragging someone else in. He leans forward, stares at a skinny kid, his t-shirt ripped, face bloodied. He jolts with shock when he realizes who it is.

• 31:48Speaker 07

  Paul Hill? Jesus!

• 31:51Alice Levine?

  Paul shoots him a look through blackened eyes. Gerry jolts forward. Finally, he can tell them he's innocent. It's all a terrible mistake.

• 32:01Speaker 07

  Tell them I didn't do this. Tell them you didn't either.

• 32:10Alice Levine?

  But Paul stares at the floor.

• 32:13Alice Levine?

  That's him. That's Gerry Conlon, my left hand.

• 32:18Matt Forde?

  I mean, obviously, Paul has been put through hell, where he's probably on the verge of death and therefore is just saying whatever they want to hear to stay alive. But still, from Gerry's perspective, he's innocent. And now in walks the guy that he knows that he likes, the first person he's seen from Northern Ireland in ages, and he's just lied to them.

• 32:39Alice Levine?

  All your hope would fade at that point. He's only a young guy, you know, he thinks his dad's gonna come and save him and tell them what's what and be his character witness.

• 32:46Matt Forde?

  And even now, if this happened, you'd have some faith, you'd think, right, there are certain levers, social media or whatever, stuff you could do. Back then, you'd probably feel like you were doomed.

• 33:00Alice Levine?

  Gerry stares at him, dumbfounded. He feels his vision narrow. I took my orders from him when I bombed that pub.

• 33:10Alice Levine?

  I just did what he told me. Gerry tries to jump up. What the fuck are you saying? But Paul's already being dragged down. Gerry's mind scrambles to make sense of what's happening. Paul can't be an IRA man, can he? A string of metallic bloody saliva drips from his mouth as he suddenly realizes. Paul's guilt or innocence isn't what matters right now. What's important is that he knows he had nothing to do with that bomb. These bastards can beat him all they want, but he won't give in. He won't admit to something he hasn't done. Not now, not ever.

• 33:58Alice Levine?

  A few minutes later, Guildford Police Station, Surrey. Wally Simmons slams his fist on the table. He's sick of being given the runaround. He knows damn well Conlon planned this attack. He's already told the Home Office he's made arrests. Now he needs written confessions. He watches Conlon slowly raise his head, snot and blood dripping from his nose and mouth. I'm telling you, mister, I didn't fucking do it.

• 34:28Alice Levine?

  Wally says nothing, just runs his hand over his head, sees a brief image of the injured girl in the rubble reaching up to him for help. He found out she died just moments later. He feels his heart stab that he couldn't save her. He lights a cigarette and studies Conlon. His eyes fall on the tattoo on Conlon's bruised arm. Two linked hearts with Mam and Dad at their centre. On the other arm, Bridie and Anne. His eyes shine as he leans forward. Your mother's called Sarah, right? He sees a flicker of alarm in Conlon's eyes.

• 35:09Alice Levine?

  She's got nothing to do with this, mister.

• 35:13Alice Levine?

  He leans back, lets a sardonic smile play on his lips. He's gathered as much intel on Conlon and his family as he could find. He knows all about Gerry's parents, his two sisters. Your sister Bridie, she works in a factory in Dublin Road. A lot of sectarian violence around there.

• 35:36Matt Forde?

  All sides use the threat of violence against loved ones to get people to do what they want. And at that point, those threats of violence were realistic. So it's not just sort of empty words, you don't think, ah, they're not gonna do anything. You think the likelihood is something's gonna happen to them.

• 35:53Alice Levine?

  Conlon's face has turned grey. A sickly sweat breaks out on his forehead as he stutters out. My family's done nothing. I've done nothing. But Wally cuts in, leans forward. Funny thing about Belfast, bullets have a habit of finding the wrong people. He stares into Conlon's bloody swollen face, holds his breath. He knows he's crossing a line, but he reminds himself of the suffering this scum has caused. He feels a surge of satisfaction as he thinks he sees the fight start to leave Conlon's eyes. Please, please, just leave my family alone.

• 36:36Alice Levine?

  Wally stubs out his cigarette, pushes over a pad of paper and places a pen on top, then folds his hands on the desk. Okay, son, now we're getting somewhere. Why don't you tell me all about your Aunt Annie?

• 36:59Alice Levine?

  The following day, Kilburn, London. Giuseppe Conlon wrestles his heavy suitcase off the crowded bus. He stops for a moment to catch his breath.

• 37:11Alice Levine?

  His tuberculosis has left him breathless and exhausted. All he wants is to sit down and work out what to do. The police won't tell him where Gerry's being held. So Giuseppe has come to London himself to find his son, come hell or high water.

• 37:32Alice Levine?

  Twenty minutes later, he knocks on the door of his sister-in-law's.

• 37:38Alice Levine?

  Annie McGuire ushers him in. She's immaculately dressed as ever, in a smart skirt and twin set, topped with neatly permed hair. He hands out chocolate bars to Annie's two youngest boys. A picture of the Queen grimaces from one wall. Churchill frowns from another.

• 37:56Matt Forde?

  That's what's so sad about this, is so many people who've come to Britain to make a life here kind of look up to the establishment and they believe in a sense of British fair play. They totally buy that story, they think for all the wrongs, for all the ills, if you come to Britain, there are rules and there's an establishment that effectively makes sure that there's fair play. And it's such a dark irony that a lot of the people who've come here expecting a higher form of justice end up then as victims of a system that effectively views them as enemies.

• 38:26Alice Levine?

  Giuseppe tries to steady his breath. He's fond of his in-laws, but whenever he and Sarah come to stay, Annie seems a bit less Irish and a lot more English. He lets his eyes fall on the television, watches a few minutes of Rising Down.

• 38:47Alice Levine?

  Hours later, he feels his nephew's hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. We're off to the Legion for a pint, you wanna come? He blinks awake, taking in Paddy and the two men with him, his brother and one of his mates. He hears himself grunt as he gets to his feet. He's just about to grab his coat when the door bursts open. Police! A horde of men in Balaclavas storm in. He sees the glint of their rifles and his heart stops. Armed police, get on the floor now! He stands rooted to the spot, his eyes wide with fear. He can hear Annie and the kids sobbing behind him. He puts up his hands, backs away.

• 39:29Alice Levine?

  What's going on? What has this? But a policeman shoves him hard in the chest.

• 39:35Speaker 07

  Get down!

• 39:37Alice Levine?

  He feels the air leave his body, lowers himself to the floor, winces as his arms are yanked back, then feels the cold metal of the handcuffs as they're clicked on. He hears the policeman caution him, the words barely register. Terrorism? He twists his head back to look at Annie, Paddy and the kids, all in handcuffs. Annie's crying out.

• 40:03Speaker 07

  Not my babies, please, please don't hurt my kids!

• 40:06Alice Levine?

  Annie's six-year-old daughter is clinging to her leg. Annie's two handcuffed boys are screaming in fear. He pleads with one of the men. They're just kids, for Christ's sake. They've done nothing wrong. Giuseppe gasps as the man punches him in the chest. He fights for his breath, his lungs burning. He's got no idea where they're being taken or why. But as his vision swims, one thing becomes clear through the panic. He came here to get his son, to put things right. But instead, he's brought the whole family down with him.

• 40:53Speaker 04

  Ghosts aren't real. At least, that's what journalist Tristan Redmond always believed. Sure, odd things happen in his childhood bedroom, but ultimately, he shrugged them off. Until he discovered that he wasn't alone, that everyone who lived thereafter him also had bizarre experiences they couldn't explain. And it gets even weirder. It just so happens that his wife's great-grandmother was murdered in the house next door. Is this ghost somehow connected to her murder? He decides to go where no son-in-law should, digging up a cold case and asking questions that nobody wants answered. Like, could his wife's great-grandfather have gotten away with the perfect crime? This is a podcast about family secrets, overwhelming coincidence, and the things

• 41:37Speaker 04

  that come back to haunt us. For the best bingeable series like Ghost Story, listen to the Audible True Crime Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can get all episodes early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.

• 41:53Speaker 05

  On January 1, 1892, a young Irish immigrant named Annie Moore became the first person processed at the new immigration station on Ellis Island. For the millions who followed her, this small island in New York Harbor would become the place where their American dream would either begin or end. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of the podcast American History Tellers. We take you to the events, times, and people that shaped America and Americans, our values, our struggles, and our dreams. In our latest series, we trace the history of Ellis Island. For more than three decades, it served as the gateway through which millions of hopeful immigrants entered the United States. But as the nation struggled to decide who belonged, some would find the gate shut to them. Follow American History Tellers wherever you get your podcasts.

• 42:38Speaker 05

  Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.

• 42:55Alice Levine?

  Three days later, Winchester Prison. Jerry sits on the thin, bloodstained mattress in his cell. He's been in this prison for two days now, and he needs to write home, tell his dad he's on remand here until his trial. He picks up the piece of letter paper the guard has left him, lets his pen hover over the empty sheet. He doesn't know how to explain what's happened. He can't understand it himself. He shoves the paper away, then a familiar voice drifts down the corridor. He jumps up. The cell next door clangs shut. He runs to the barred window, hisses out.

• 43:36Speaker 07

  Paul, you murderer, you fucking bastard!

• 43:40Alice Levine?

  He hears a choked sob, then hears Paul's shaky voice.

• 43:44Speaker 07

  Jerry, believe me, I didn't do it. I wasn't even in Guildford. I was in Southampton with that girl I met. But the coppers took me to the top of the building.

• 43:55Alice Levine?

  He hears Paul take a shuddering breath.

• 43:57Speaker 07

  Threatened to throw me out the window if I didn't give your name.

• 44:02Alice Levine?

  Jerry lets out a breath.

• 44:04Matt Forde?

  Thing is, if you're Jerry, you're like, okay, that's bad. And I do have some empathy for you. But I am also innocent, and you're the one who said my name.

• 44:13Speaker 07

  And I didn't say your name.

• 44:16Alice Levine?

  Jerry swallows, watches the rain bounce off the concrete roof opposite. His face burns with shame. They've all been played. He turns from the window as a cell door opens. Picks up his bucket for slopping out. He's still pissing blood, and it's agony. He heads over to one of the screws.

• 44:39Speaker 07

  I need to see a doctor. If it was up to me, you'd rot in hell, Conlon. Next time you see Belfast, they'll be running day trips to the moon.

• 44:48Alice Levine?

  He watches the screw walk away. He wants to shout out that he's innocent, but his eyes prick with tears.

• 44:57Speaker 07

  Jerry.

• 44:58Alice Levine?

  He spins, stares open-mouthed in shock. His father is standing right in front of him. For a second, he can't speak. His dad has come to take him home, out of this nightmare. But then, he spots the cuffs.

• 45:16Speaker 07

  I was at your Aunt Annie's house. Your sister's all. Said we'd been making bombs.

• 45:25Matt Forde?

  Okay, so they're accused of running a bomb-making operation in a house full of kids.

• 45:30Alice Levine?

  Yes, and the only evidence that they actually have that that could be the case is that some of the family were found to have traces of nitroglycerin on their hands. Now, that, to the untrained ear, might sound bad, but as we will remember from our education around the Birmingham Six series, nitroglycerin is found in all kinds of places, like playing cards, for example. Jerry's chest heaves as he watches his dad be pushed into a cell. A nauseating jolt runs through him as he realizes. His father's here because of him. His Aunt Annie, his Uncle Paddy, his young nephews Vincent and Patrick, all arrested because of him.

• 46:12Alice Levine?

  He has to clear his name, because if he doesn't, he'll never get out of this nightmare. He'll be locked up in this hellhole for the rest of his life. And he'll take his family with him.

• 46:30Alice Levine?

  October 1975, the Old Bailey, London. Jerry grips the stand, feels his whole body tremble as the prosecuting barrister, Michael Havers QC, swoops around and jabs a finger at him.

• 46:46Speaker 07

  You confessed to the police that you planted that bomb. Did you not, Mr. Conlon?

• 46:51Alice Levine?

  Jerry's mouth is dry.

• 46:53Speaker 07

  I did, but only because they beat me, threatened my family.

• 46:59Alice Levine?

  He watches Havers spin to the jury.

• 47:01Speaker 07

  And yet, we've just heard from Detective Chief Superintendent Simmons that no such abuse took place. So either he's lying, or you are, Mr. Conlon.

• 47:13Alice Levine?

  Jerry glances across the courtroom. Simmons doesn't flinch.

• 47:18Speaker 07

  I am telling you the truth.

• 47:21Alice Levine?

  He looks around the silent courtroom at a sea of hostile faces, then over at the jury, and just hopes they can see through the police's lies.

• 47:30Matt Forde?

  A British jury.

• 47:32Alice Levine?

  It makes your blood run cold, really, in this situation, doesn't it?

• 47:35Matt Forde?

  Yeah, because no one is free of prejudice or bias. Given the context of the time, Britain's relationship with the Irish, the fear of the IRA, the weight of the establishment leading you in a particular direction, it would be a miracle to find even one juror in Jerry's favor. And God knows how they selected the jury as well, that's the other thing. I wouldn't trust that process. Do you drink Guinness? Yes. Out.

• 48:00Alice Levine?

  What's your favorite Tato's flavor? That was a trick question. Out. Two days later, he's led back into the court for the verdict. His stomach knots as he sits next to Paul Hill, his eyes still black and swollen from the police beatings. Next to him sits another of their friends from London, Paddy Armstrong, and his English girlfriend, Carol Richardson, who stares blankly ahead. She looks drugged. He whispers to Paddy. Is she okay? Paddy shakes his head. Police doctors pumped her full of something. She doesn't know what planet she's on. Jesus Christ. His eyes fall to the jury as they file back in, searching their faces. He watches the foreman step forward and clear his throat.

• 48:45Alice Levine?

  He catches his own lawyer's eye, in the hope that there might be some final plea to be made. The blood pounds in his ears as he hears the verdicts. Paul Michael Hill, guilty. Patrick Joseph Armstrong, guilty. Carol Richardson, guilty. He feels his legs weaken as he hears his own name. Gerard Patrick Conlon, guilty. Carol lets out a cry. He watches her put her face in her hands and start to sob.

• 49:26Alice Levine?

  He wants to comfort her, but he's too numb to move. He can hear the judge, Mr. Justice Donaldson's booming voice.

• 49:35Speaker 07

  Your attack was callous, cowardly, and pointless. If the death penalty was still in place, it would have been imposed. Jerry Conlon, I sentence you to 30 years.

• 49:47Alice Levine?

  Jerry's legs buckle beneath him. 30 years? He's only 21. The room spins around Jerry. For a moment, he can't breathe. He feels the guards grab hold of him, drag him down the stairs into the dark cells below. In the silence, the full horror hits him. The thing worse than his own sentence. His own father will stand in that same dock in a few weeks' time. The man that only came to London to help his son, accused of crimes he didn't commit. He'll most likely be branded a terrorist and face the same guilty verdict. Jerry puts his head in his hands.

• 50:32Alice Levine?

  He put his father here. And there's not a thing on God's earth he can do to save him.

• 50:50Alice Levine?

  You've been listening to British Scandal, an Audible original. Produced by Audible with Samizdat Audio.

• 50:57Matt Forde?

  A quick note about our dialogue. In most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but all our dramatizations are based on historical research.

• 51:04Alice Levine?

  If you'd like to know more about this story, you can read In the Name of the Father by Jerry Conlon, Life After Life by Paddy Armstrong, and In the Name of the Son, The Jerry Conlon Story by Richard O'Rourke. British Scandal is hosted by me, Alice Levine.

• 51:19Matt Forde?

  And me, Matt Ford.

• 51:20Alice Levine?

  Written by Karen Laws. The story editor was James Maniac. The senior producer was Chica Ayers. The assistant producer was Louise Mason. The production manager was Louis Blatherwick. Recorded by Jai Williams. Sound design by Peregrine Andrews. The executive producers for Samizdat were Joe Sykes and Dasha Lissatina. Executive producers for Audible were Theodora Leludis and Astelle Doyle.

• 51:53Speaker 07

  Imagine you're reading Pride and Prejudice, except you're not reading it. Harris Dickinson and Marissa Abella are reading it to you on Audible. Her barbs sting you. His coldness sends a shiver up your spine. Your heart aches, your ears burn. You yearn for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to profess their undying love for one another. You can't bear it any longer. Well, maybe a chapter longer. Performance is so good, you'll give love a second chance. Audible, stories that speak to you.

• 52:23Speaker 03

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• 53:07Speaker 03

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