The Belgrano Diary

In the days after 9/11, George W. Bush declared a state of emergency and initiated what would become an unprecedented expansion of US power. Public debate narrowed: there were new limits on what was acceptable, and not acceptable, to say. The London Review of Books published a number of pieces that challenged this consensus, forcing its editor, Mary-Kay Wilmers, to defend the paper on national rad...

After 9/11, George W. Bush launched a global War on Terror. What followed was an unprecedented expansion of American power, from Guantánamo Bay to drone strikes, mass surveillance to the weaponisation of the financial system. Asked when it would end, Vice-President Dick Cheney replied: ‘Not in our lifetime.’ Two decades later, we’re still living in its shadow. Aftershock: The War on Terror is a ne...

The Belgrano affair reaches its climax as the stories of Narendra Sethia and Clive Ponting connect. The two whistleblowers appear in court and the diary makes its final journey. The Belgrano Diary is a new six-part series from the Documentary Team at the London Review of Books, hosted by Andrew O’Hagan. We’ve brought a selection of relevant writing from the LRB archive – including pieces by Tam Da...

Lieutenant Sethia is accused of a second crime: the theft of HMS Conqueror’s log books. Two journalists and the Serious Crime Squad try to hunt him down.  The Belgrano Diary is a new six-part series from the Documentary Team at the London Review of Books, hosted by Andrew O’Hagan. We’ve brought a selection of relevant writing from the LRB archive – including pieces by Tam Dalyell, who plays an imp...

Armed with the diary, Tam Dalyell goes on the attack – but the cover-up continues. A whistleblower from within the Ministry of Defence is arrested for a breach of the Official Secrets Act. The Belgrano Diary is a six-part series from the Documentary Team at the London Review of Books, hosted by Andrew O’Hagan. You can listen to exclusive interviews and other bonus material, all for a one-off payme...

Lieutenant Sethia quits the navy and moves to the Caribbean. He thinks the Falklands War is behind him, but back in the UK, an eccentric, anti-war MP notices a discrepancy in the government’s account of the sinking and starts to investigate. The Belgrano Diary is a six-part series from the Documentary Team at the London Review of Books, hosted by Andrew O’Hagan. You can listen to exclusive intervi...

HMS Conqueror stalks the Belgrano, but Britain’s Rules of Engagement prohibit an attack. Margaret Thatcher makes a decision and Lieutenant Sethia and the Conqueror crew get ready to fire. The Belgrano Diary is a new six-part series from the Documentary Team at the London Review of Books, hosted by Andrew O’Hagan. You can listen to exclusive interviews and other bonus material, all for a one-off pa...

When Argentina invades the Falkland Islands, Margaret Thatcher sends a huge flotilla on an 8000-mile rescue mission – to save a forgotten remnant of the empire, and her premiership. Onboard the nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror, Lieutenant Narendra Sethia starts to keep a diary. The Belgrano Diary is a six-part series from the Documentary Team at the London Review of Books, hosted by Andrew O’Hagan....

On 2 May 1982, the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentinian warship, the General Belgrano, killing 323 men. It was the bloodiest event of the Falklands War – and the most controversial. The account of the sinking given by Thatcher's government was inaccurate in every crucial detail – and the truth would only emerge from the pages of a private diary, written by an officer onboard the su...