Imagine your plane being hijacked by nine fanatical ninjas wielding Samurai swords. That was the nasty surprise that lay in store for passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 351 in March, 1970. Members of the Japanese Red Army Faction suddenly leaped from their seats wielding the deadly swords and demanding control of the plane. You may…
When the Tories came to power in 1979, fighting crime was high on the agenda. There was even a flirtation with the idea of restoring capital punishment, which Thatcher was understood to favour. But the landmark policy was the introduction of the so-called Short Sharp Shock regime with special detention centres imposing military-style discipline on…
There’s an astonishing number of unsolved murders from the 1980s and it’s very striking how varied these cases are. Mobsters, members of cults, victims of homophobia, and racist homicides. Some of the stories are truly sinister so let’s investigate. The People’s Temple and a cult defector In 1980, Jeannie Mills, her husband Al, and daughter…
Millions of tourists and pilgrims who visit the Vatican marvel at the statue of the Virgin Mary holding the dead Jesus that greets you near the entrance to Saint Peter’s Basilica. But in 1972, it was a scene of horror. A madman claiming to be Jesus Christ took a hammer and began smashing the beautiful…
For two years, I’ve been investigating the Jack the Ripper case – pouring over the original police and court records, as well as contemporary newspaper reports and other evidence. What I’ve uncovered will amaze you. On May 28, 2024 – I will reveal all in a new book: Jack the Ripper and Abraham Lincoln (Troubador…
Short Sharp Shock was a military-style prison regime for young offenders that wrecked lives and didn’t work as Tony McMahon discovers
The start of the 1970s saw a huge surge in truck hijacking with billions of dollars worth of cargo stolen by organised crime
Local youth and university students often connected badly in the 1980s with acts of violence not being uncommon as students were viewed as privileged
The Guardian Angels were set up in New York in the late 1970s to patrol the subway but when they came to London – the idea flopped badly
