The funeral service for former Conservative cabinet minister Norman Tebbit has been held at the cathedral in the town where he lived. Lord Tebbit died at his home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on 7 July, aged 94. He was injured in an IRA bombing in Brighton in 1984, which left his wife Margaret permanently paralysed. Several senior Tories gathered to mourn Lord Tebbit, including John Gummer, Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg. Tory peer and author Lord Michael Dobbs described Lord Tebbit as “a giant” and “an inspiring leader”. The funeral was live streamed online and included hymns sung by a choir. Lord Tebbit’s children William, Alison and John each took turns to share reflections of their father. Former Conservative party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith gave a reading from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and called Lord Tebbit a “great servant to his country” who had a “wonderfully wicked sense of humour”. Lord Tebbit served as a cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher’s government and was the chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987. He was a loyal ally of Thatcher and backed her agenda, bringing in laws designed to curb union power. The Brighton bombing had left Lord Tebbit injured “far more seriously than many know” and had left him in pain “every day”. Lord Tebbit decided to leave politics to care for his wife and his devotion to Margaret was described as “total”.
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