A POLICE officer hero of the bloody 1980 Iranian Embassy siege has died at the age of 85.
PC Trevor Lock was guarding the building in London’s South Kensington when terrorists took him and 25 others hostage.
Police officer Trevor Lock, a hero of the bloody 1980 Iranian Embassy siege, has died at the age of 85[/caption]
A six-day stand-off ended live on TV when the SAS stormed the embassy, killing five of the six hostage-takers.
PC Lock, who had strapped a hidden handgun to his body, spoke to police negotiators after building a rapport with the separatist group — then wrestled the leader as the rescue raid began.
The officer, who died on Sunday, played down his heroics, seeing out his career on motorway patrol.
On Tuesday, a Police Federation spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
“PC Lock is remembered for calming his fellow hostages during the siege, acting as an intermediary between the terrorists and the security forces that ringed the building and – as the embassy was stormed – tackling the leading gunman.
“PC Lock was awarded the George Medal for his ‘outstanding courage, sustained bravery, calmness and devotion to duty’.
“We could not have said it any better.”
The hostage takers were Iranian-Arabs campaigning for the sovereignty of Khuzestan, a province in the south west of the country.
They demanded the release of prisoners held in Iran, as well as their own safe passage out of Britain.
PC Trevor Lock, behind another man, speaks to police negotiators from an embassy window[/caption]
