Who Dares Wins: Ben Macintyre on the Iranian Embassy Siege

The bestselling author sat down with our editor to discuss one of the most stunning events broadcast live on TV.

When members of the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRFLA) bundled PC Keith Lock into the doorway of 16 Prince’s Gate and captured the Iranian Embassy, taking 26 people hostage, they set in motion events that would have a profound impact on Britain’s response to terror. Six days later the siege was over, with five of the six dead, but the storming of the building had been watched live on TV by around 14 million, most of who had been watching the nail-biting climax to the Embassy World Snooker Championship final between Alex Higgins and Cliff Thorburn (Thorburn won 18-16).