Amongst his first assignments on becoming a reporter was to cover the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. He spent five weeks in Zeebrugge in 1987 during the operation to raise the capsized ferry 'Herald of Free Enterprise'. Another major assignment was to cover the UK's failed extradition attempt from the Republic of Ireland of Father Patrick Ryan in 1989. The failure was attributed to prejudicial comments made in Parliament by his father, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Mates, MP, which implied that Ryan was a terrorist. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher compounded the damage done by Mates' comments at PMQs on 29 November 1988. In October 1989, the Irish government refused the extradition request on the grounds that Ryan would not get a fair trial in Britain.