Ian Gow offers Clark a way to escape the department he has grown to loathe and make his way to the centre of power. Clark submits suggestions for the reform of the Prime Minister's office and enlists Jonathan Aitken in his plot but fails to get the appointment to head it. Clark makes his first appearance on BBC Question Time hosted by Sue Lawley where he criticises the decision of Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine to purchase a missile system from the US. Clark leaves the 1984 Brighton conference early narrowly avoiding the Provisional Irish Republican Army hotel bombing but is overlooked in the resulting reshuffle. Racist comments from Clark about Britain's black community result in a press outrage. The resignations over the Westland affair result in Clark's appointment as Minister for Trade.