All of the transitions' great and good were gathered at Buckingham for a party
“I remember looking at Alan (Milburn) as the shots rang out. I initially thought it was fireworks until the horror dawned on us. I remember watching everyone around me hitting the ground, one of the Queen’s nieces spilled champagne on my nice new suit. As security surrounded me my mind raced, was 1968 happening all over again? Would men in guns come storming in? Myself, Alan, and our families were marched away to a safe room deep within the Palace. We sat there for hours as security cleared the grounds, at the time we didn’t know that I wasn’t the target. It was quite the comeback for Civil Assistance. Did they have people on the inside? To this day I still don’t know, I find it hard to believe a young man could gun down an MP outside the Palace without MI6 at least hearing rumors. I confess I looked at General Jackson differently after that day.” - Extract from Alan Johnson’s Memoirs “The Long and Winding Road” (2017)
A week after the election the Palace held a garden party for the newly elected MPs, men who would’ve shot the Queen years ago bowed, shook hands, and posed for photos. Champagne flowed as the old establishment welcomed the new. Speeches were made as the global press waited outside the Palace gates. The Government’s first few days in the office went well, the Ministers were settling in, and Johnson was due to fly out to Brussels the next day for talks on EU accession. The weather was uncharacteristically good for a British March, and in the beautiful opulence of the Palace Gardens, one could almost relax. But these good omens wouldn’t last long
Bob Wareing was late, he never wanted to spend his time grinning and shaking hands with imperialist generals, but the Socialist Alternative’s whip had insisted they all turned up, it helped to build legitimacy after all. Wareing had been a Councillor in Liverpool before the coup, a militant, he had been on someone or the other’s list after Mountbatten took power, so they came for him. Wareing had sought exile in the most unlikely of places, Tito’s Yugoslavia, growing a fondness for the country. As one of the few survivors of the 60s Labour left, he found himself a Socialist MP for his old hometown of Liverpool.
Wareing was making his way past St James’ Park towards one of the Palace’s many side entrances. Upon seeing the four armed police officers he reached for his ticket. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man in his early twenties. “Death to Traitors!” The man shouted. Wareing was confused. The man pulled a gun, Wareing was no longer confused. Then three shots rang out. One to Wareing’s chest, one to his head. The third was fired by the Armed Officer, killing Wareing's assailant instantly, but it was too late.
London was placed into lockdown shortly after the attack
“Civil Assistance has morphed into a national, violent, counter-transition movement opposed to the extension of democracy in the UK. Membership of groups such as CA is difficult to gauge because such organizations ‘are often transitory and fluid’. There appears to be some evidence of broad support for the movement. There are far more male supporters than female: 81 percent are male, and almost three-quarters of all members are under the age of 30. The support base shares a sense of frustrated nationalism in the face of what they perceive to be a general liberal democratic threat. It is their concern about liberalization, and especially immigration, which motivates these supporters. According to Searchlight, one of CA’s leaders is Mark Collett, a former National member with a series of convictions.” - Fascism and the return of Civil Assistance, Lecture by Dominic Alessio, Richmond University (2009)
The assassination of Bob Wareing was the most significant act of right-wing terrorism since the 80s. Investigations showed the assassin was twenty-three years old Stephen Yaxley from Luton. He was affiliated with Civil Assistance, the far-right Paramilitary Organisation established by Mountbatten allies in the terror of the 70s. Civil Assistance had declined in prevalence over the 80s and 90s, being banned by Hill-Norton. Now the organization had come back to the political scene with a brazen attack, killing an MP meters away from Buckingham Palace.
Civil Assistance supporters would clash with mourners in Liverpool
The death of Wareing led to demonstrations in his hometown of Liverpool, where socialist demonstrators clashed with far-right activists and the police had to step in. In London rumors began to swirl, how could a lone man assassinate an MP meters away from the Queen without the security services finding out and stopping him. Had hardline elements within the Home Office ignored, or at worst assisted Yaxley? John McDonnell, Leader of the SA, demanded a crackdown on Civil Assistance or the Alternative would withdraw its support from the Government.
Raids across Britain netted some worrying results, in Wolverhampton police discovered a stock of military-grade weapons, including rifles from Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland. Somehow Civil Assistance had gotten their hands on military-grade weaponry, meaning the Wareing attack was unlikely to be their last. If Johnson couldn’t keep a lid on political violence, a second 70s terror could occur, and with an MP dead no one was safe. It was all going so well, now the real test began.
“Parliament may never be the same after the shocking attack by a gunman which left a Socialist Alternative MP dead. The attack has raised fears as politicians from all parties consider their security arrangements. SDP MP Joan Ruddock says members of parliament have received threats on a regular basis since last week's election. "It's a very alarming case but it's not surprising," the Inner East London MP told BBC News. "This was bound to happen I'm afraid. Lots of MPs endured threats and intimidation over the election no doubt this is what will be coming to light over the coming weeks and months. Like all forms of violence, attacks on politicians are under-reported. If any research were to be done it would find they are facing much more violence than anyone suspects, but none of them said anything about it." - Attack prompts MPs to rethink security, BBC News (2005)
Many suspected Wareing's wouldn't be the last transition politician assassinated
