'I counted them all out, and I counted them all back': BBC Falklands War legend Brian Hanrahan dies, aged 61

By Liz Thomas
Updated: 21:17 EST, 20 December 2010

Brian Hanrahan

Former BBC diplomatic editor Brian Hanrahan has died from cancer aged 61

Brian Hanrahan, the BBC journalist best known for his coverage of the Falklands War, has died from cancer aged 61.

One of the leading foreign correspondents of his generation, he witnessed the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the assassination of Indira Gandhi in India.

But Hanrahan secured his place in broadcasting history with the words: ‘I counted them all out and I counted them all back.’

He used them to get round Ministry of Defence restrictions on the reporting of operations during the Falklands War in 1982.

Hanrahan, who was on the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, was barred from reporting how many of Britain’s Harrier jets were involved in a raid on Port Stanley, but he still managed to reassure audiences that they had completed the mission without loss.

He told BBC viewers: ‘I am not allowed to say how many planes joined the raid, but I counted them all out and I counted them all back. Their pilots were unhurt, cheerful and jubilant, giving thumbs-up signs.’

Hanrahan, who leaves a wife and daughter, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. His condition deteriorated after he was admitted to hospital with an infection ten days ago.

Hanrahan

Veteran correspondent: Hanrahan sprang to prominence with his reports from the Falklands during the war with Argentina

He worked for the BBC for almost four decades, beginning in 1971 after graduating from Essex University. He moved to Moscow in 1986 where he reported on Mr Gorbachev’s attempts to reform the Soviet Union.

In 1989 Hanrahan became diplomatic correspondent, covering the Tiananmen Square massacre and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He was a regular voice on Radio 4 as a presenter of The World at One and The World This Weekend.

BBC director-general Mark Thompson said: ‘Brian was a journalist of unimpeachable integrity and outstanding judgment, but his personal kindness and humanity also came through. That is why audiences and everyone who knew him here will miss him very much.’

View aft from the bridge of HMS Hermes as tugs ease her away from Portsmouth dockside as she prepared to sail for the Falkland Islands

View aft from the bridge of HMS Hermes as tugs ease her away from Portsmouth dockside as she prepared to sail for the Falkland Islands

An Argentinean bomb exploding on board the Royal Navy frigate HMS Antelope, killing the bomb disposal engineer who was trying to defuse it

An Argentinean bomb exploding on board the Royal Navy frigate HMS Antelope, killing the bomb disposal engineer who was trying to defuse it