Ian Gow offers Clark a way to escape the department he has grown to loathe and make his way to the centre of power . Clark submits suggestions for the reform of the Prime Minister 's office and enlists Jonathan Aitken in his plot but fails to get the appointment to head it . Clark makes his first appearance on BBC Question Time hosted by Sue Lawley where he criticises the decision of Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine to purchase a missile system from the US . Clark leaves the 1984 Brighton conference early narrowly avoiding the Provisional Irish Republican Army hotel bombing but is overlooked in the resulting reshuffle . Racist comments from Clark about Britain 's black community result in a press outrage . The resignations over the Westland affair result in Clark 's appointment as Minister for Trade
hotel bombing
Brighton hotel bombing
The Alan Clark Diaries