Westland Affair - January 1986

January 1986

Westland's management were worried about future business with European governments and Thatcher replied to Cuckney to the effect that the British Government would continue to support it. Heseltine wanted to include less supportive views, but Thatcher did not allow this.

In early January Lloyds Bank sent Heseltine a letter and in Heseltine's reply he listed the things which in his view would happen if Westland chose Sikorsky instead of the European alternative. Heseltine claimed, contradicting Thatcher's reassurances to Cuckney, that Westland risked losing future European orders if the Sikorsky option was chosen. Heseltine leaked this letter to The Times. The letter, on Thatcher's request, was referred to the Solicitor-General, Patrick Mayhew. Mayhew sent a reply to Heseltine, noting "material inaccuracies" in Heseltine's letter. On 6 January Mayhew's letter was selectively leaked to the Press Association by the Chief Information Officer of the DTI, Colette Bowe on whose orders became a controversy. The Attorney-General, Sir Michael Havers, took a stern view of leaks and threatened to resign if an official inquiry was not set up to look into it. Thatcher agreed to do this.

A Cabinet meeting on Westland was scheduled for 9 January. Brittan and Heseltine both put forward their views. Thatcher concluded by saying that as this was a time of business negotiations all answers relating to Westland should be cleared through the Cabinet Office. Heseltine agreed. Nicholas Ridley intervened and asked whether this included not only future statements but repetition of past statements too. Thatcher gave an affirmative to both. Heseltine argued that he should be allowed to reaffirm statements he had already made but Thatcher disagreed, arguing that Cabinet collective responsibility should be observed. Heseltine was then said to have replied that there had been no collective responsibility in Westland. Peter Jenkins claims that Heseltine lost his cool, gathered his papers, got up from his chair and proclaimed "I can no longer be a member of this Cabinet" and then left the room. Heseltine then stormed out of Downing Street and announced his resignation to the assembled media. Within a few hours of his resignation, Heseltine produced a twenty-two minute statement of 2,500 words detailing his grievances. He blamed Thatcher's intransigence, saying his views were ignored. Thatcher sent a letter to Heseltine, as is customary on these occasions.

Thatcher then adjourned the Cabinet for a brief break. George Younger was then offered and accepted the office of Secretary of State for Defence, which Heseltine had just relinquished. The Prime Minister's office then requested Malcolm Rifkind to take up Younger's previous job, Secretary of State for Scotland, which he accepted. Cabinet then resumed. On 13 January Thatcher held a meeting with Whitelaw, Brittan, Younger and John Wakeham to decide what should then happen. The conclusion was that Brittan, rather than the Prime Minister, should reply to Heseltine's statement on that day. When in the House of Commons, Heseltine asked whether any letters from British Aerospace had been received. Brittan did receive a letter from BAe but it was marked Private and Strictly Confidential so he said in effect that he did not receive one. He was forced to return to the House a few hours later to apologise.

On 15 January there was a debate on Westland in the Commons in which Thatcher replied to Neil Kinnock, the leader of the Labour Party. Thatcher listed all the ministerial, committee and Cabinet meetings on Westland. Heseltine then made a speech criticising the way collective responsibility had been damaged over Westland.

Sir Robert Armstrong, the Cabinet Secretary, held an inquiry into the leaking of Mayhew's letter and reported his findings to the Prime Minister on 21 January. Armstrong concluded that Brittan had told Bowe to leak Mayhew's letter through a telephone conversation to Roger Mogg, Brittan's private secretary. Thatcher is said to have asked Brittan four times: "Leon, why didn't you tell me." Havers, who demanded the inquiry, later claimed: "Unless the PM is the most marvellous actress I've ever seen in my life she was as shocked as anybody that in fact it was on Leon Brittan's instructions."

On 23 January Thatcher had to make a speech to the Commons on Armstrong's inquiry. A meeting of the 1922 Committee, Conservative back-benchers, demanded Brittan's resignation. On 24 January therefore Brittan resigned because "it has become clear to me that I no longer command the full confidence of my colleagues."

On 27 January Labour set down an adjournment motion. Whitelaw, Howe, Wakeham, John Biffen and Douglas Hurd helped Thatcher draft her speech for this occasion. Ronald Millar, one of the Prime Minister's friends, was asked to help revise the speech and Thatcher remarked to him that she might cease to be Prime Minister by six o'clock that evening if things went bad. Neil Kinnock, the leader of the Opposition, was generally thought to have made a poor opening speech. Alan Clark recorded in his diary that "For a few seconds Kinnock had her cornered...But then he had an attack of wind, gave her time to recover." Heseltine was frustrated at Kinnock's failure to exploit the moment and claimed that Thatcher's statement brought "the politics of the matter to an end" and that he would support the Government in the lobby.