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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Libyan embassy siege
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On 17 April 1984 a machine gun was fired from a window of the Libyan embassy in London at a crowd outside, demonstrating peacefully against the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi. Twelve Libyan demonstrators were wounded and a British woman police constable, Yvonne Fletcher, was killed; there is now a memorial to her on the pavement in St James's Square where she fell. Police besieged the embassy building until April 27, when its occupants – including the unidentified killer of WPC Fletcher – were allowed to fly home after the government had broken off diplomatic relations with Libya. British diplomats and their families had during the same period been besieged by hostile crowds in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
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