The controversy surrounding "Death on the Rock" was "unsurpassed" in Lord Thomson's experience. The morning after the broadcast, the British broadsheets appeared open-minded or moderately favourable to "This Week"; "The Times" told readers that "Death on the Rock" "seemed a significant, thoroughly responsible and serious examination of a most disturbing case" and that it "simply raised serious questions and suggested they needed deep examination". The tabloids, however, berated the programme and its makers. "The Sun" accused the makers of a "cheap scoop" and labelled the programme "IRA propaganda". The "Daily Mail" was equally robust; its main headline read "fury over SAS 'trial by TV'", while in an inside article, it called the programme "woefully one-sided", and accused Bolton of having previously collaborated with the IRA for sensational news stories. That evening, Bolton agreed to appear on Channel 4's "Right to Reply", a show which allowed ordinary viewers to question the makers of controversial television programmes; the programme was pre-recorded, and, unusually, the producers agreed to cut the end of the recording after one of the participants—a former member of Margaret Thatcher's personal staff claiming to be an impartial viewer—launched an attack on Bolton, in which he accused Bolton of associating with terrorists.