Obituary: Lady Tebbit, who was paralysed in IRA bombing
Lord Norman Tebbit, with his wife Lady Margaret, at their Suffolk home in 2009. She died on Saturday (December 19) aged 86. - Credit: Archant
Lady Margaret Tebbit, who survived the IRA's Brighton bomb in 1984, has died.
Born in Ely in 1934, she was one of nine children of tenant farmer Stan Daines and his wife Elsie.
She was staying at the Grand Hotel with her husband Lord Norman Tebbit, then a Conservative cabinet minister, for the party conference when the explosion happened.
Lady Tebbit was left paralysed and spent two years in Stoke Mandeville Hospital being treated for her injuries.
Despite a broken neck, she regained some of the use of her hands and arms. However, she needed a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
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After the bombing, Lord Tebbit left the cabinet in 1987 to be able to care for his wife. At the 1992 general election he stood down from the House of Commons, becoming Lord Tebbit.
They later moved to Bury St Edmunds in 2009 where she died at home on Saturday (December 19).
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She was aged 86 and in recent years had been suffering a form of dementia.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid his respects through Twitter.
He said: "Very sad to hear the news of Margaret Tebbit’s death.
"She was a brave woman who showed enormous fortitude in her suffering after the 1984 Brighton bombing.
"My thoughts are with Norman and their family at this difficult time."
Norman and Margaret Tebbit married in 1956. He had been a pilot in the RAF before he was elected as MP for Chingford in south Essex.
They couple had two sons and a daughter. She was a nurse before the bombing.
For 20 years, Lady Tebbit was vice president of the spinal cord injury charity Aspire.
Brian Carlin, chief executive of Aspire, said: “I am very sad to hear about Margaret’s death.
"She will be deeply missed by myself and everyone at Aspire. We are honoured that Margaret, Norman and their family have remained such loyal supporters of the charity throughout the years.
"Margaret has been an incredible ambassador and role model for people with spinal cord injuries and an invaluable friend to Aspire for over 20 years."
