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I welcome former police officers Matt Johnson and John Murray to the show in this interview episode to discuss their new book 'No Ordinary Day'.
On April 17, 1984, as demonstrators gathered outside the Libyan embassy in London, two gunmen waited inside. At 10.18 am, automatic gunfire rained down on the protestors, and WPC Yvonne Fletcher fell, mortally wounded.
As his friend lay dying, PC John Murray made her a promise that he would not rest until those responsible had been brought to justice. Thirty-seven years would pass before he was able to fulfil that undertaking.
While researching this moving account of one man’s dogged pursuit of justice for a murdered colleague, Matt Johnson uncovered secret-service deals and government duplicity, all part of a plan to force an end to the National Union of Mineworkers strike. He discovered the real reason Yvonne’s killers were allowed to go free and how events that day led to thirty years of growing political control of policing, resulting in the disarray increasingly evident today.
The book pulls seemingly unconnected threads into a coherent and shocking whole. It provides startling insights into how decisions taken by our politicians and the actions of our intelligence agencies, supposedly in our best interests, may be anything but.
'No Ordinary Day' was released on June 8, 2023, and is available to purchase here:
No Ordinary Day | Ad Lib Publishers
***This interview was recorded on June 5, 2023.
Intro music:
David John Brady - 'Throw Down the Gauntlet'
Author / Retired Police Officer / Former Soldier
Matt served for twenty-five years, first as a soldier and then as an officer in the Metropolitan Police. Forced to retire due to PTSD while undergoing treatment, Matt was encouraged to write as part of his therapy. The result was his 2016 debut novel, 'Wicked Game', which was shortlisted for a Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award. 'Deadly Game' and 'End Game' followed this. Matt’s fourth novel, 'Crow 27', was published in 2022. 'No Ordinary Day' is his first non-fiction book.
Retired Police Officer
John is a retired police officer who worked closely with Yvonne Fletcher and held her as she lay dying. For 37 years, he has campaigned and fought resolutely to bring her killer to justice.
