Airey Neave Trust

Airey Neave, war hero and the first Englishman to escape from Colditz, barrister, poilitician and shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was assassinated by the the INLA in March 1979, in the car park of the House of Commons. He had led the campaign which brought Margaret Thatcher to the leadership of the Conservative party, and his death came a month before the General Election following which she became Prime Minister. In the wake of the killing of Airey Neave by Irish terrorists in 1979, the Airey Neave Trust was established through public subscription, to further research and understanding in relation to Freedom under the Law, and especially about issues regarding the analysis of and the best response to terrorist violence. Over the years since its foundation, the Trust has enabled people to produce work of a high calibre and of enduring significance in this field – examples include books by Dr John Horgan - Walking Away from Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Movements, James Harkin - Hunting Season and James Fergusson - The World’s Most Dangerous Place: Inside the Outlaw State of Somalia and Al-Britannia, My Country. The Trust has also funded events which have furthered discussion and debate and appropriate response - including a consultation at St George’s House on Countering Violent Extremism Post Arab Spring and a National Security Fellowship Scheme on Countering IEDs and Detecting Home-made Explosives.