Retired Met police officers Matt Johnson and John Murray will be visiting Penarth on Wednesday 11 October to talk about their must-read new book, No Ordinary Day, which uncovers the truth behind the 1984 murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher at the Libyan People’s Bureau in London. The event, which is organised by Penarth’s award-winning indie bookshop, Griffin Books, will take place at Glamorganshire Golf Club. 

On 17 April 1984, as police and anti-Gaddafi demonstrators gathered in the street outside the Libyan People’s Bureau in London, they had no way of knowing they were about to become part of one of the greatest tragedies in British policing history. At 10.17 am automatic gunfire rained down on them. WPC Yvonne Fletcher was hit in the back and later died from her injuries. Twelve demonstrators were wounded. The gunmen were Libyans, both concealed behind a first-floor window of the Bureau.

Two weeks later, all those present inside the Bureau, including everyone suspected of involvement in the attack, were deported from the UK. Men guilty of terrorism and murder were neither arrested nor prosecuted. As Yvonne Fletcher lay dying, her colleague and close friend PC John Murray cradled her in his arms. Before she lost consciousness, he promised her he would not rest until those responsible for her murder had been brought to justice. 

Thirty-seven years would pass before John was able to fulfil that promise. The story behind what happened outside the Libyan People’s Bureau is complex, shocking and revealing. Matt Johnson’s compelling account pulls together a series of seemingly unconnected threads into a coherent whole, incorporating all the inter-related elements of politics, business, secret service missions and chance.

For some, No Ordinary Day will be a very uncomfortable read. For many, it may confirm what they already suspect, that we, the public, know very little of the decisions being made by our elected representatives and the actions taken by official bodies, supposedly in our best interests.

Wed 11 Oct / 7.30 pm
at Glamorganshire Golf Club, Lavernock Road, Penarth, CF64 5UP
Tickets: from £5.00

BOOK TICKETS NOW: www.ticketsource.co.uk/griffinbooks