The Westland affair was a political scandal for the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1986. The argument was a result of differences of opinion within the government as to the future of the United Kingdom helicopter industry. The struggling Westland company, Britain's last helicopter manufacturer, was to be the subject of a rescue bid. While the Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine favoured a European solution, integrating Westland and British Aerospace (BAe) with Italian (Agusta) and French companies, the Prime Minister and the Trade and Industry Secretary Leon Brittan wanted to see Westland merge with Sikorsky, an American company. This is a list of British political scandals, real or alleged: 1700s South Sea Bubble (1720) 1910s Marconi scandal of insider trading by Rufus Isaacs and others (1912) 1920s Zinoviev Letter (1924) 1930s Jimmy Thomas budget leak (1936) 1940s Hugh Dalton budget leak (1947) John Belcher corruptly influenced - led to... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors. ... Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset, formed just before the start of World War II. During the war the company produced a number of generally unsuccessful designs, but their Lysander would serve as an important liaison aircraft with the RAF. After the war the... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... Michael Heseltine walks out of the cabinet meeting having resigned, January 9, 1986 Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC (born 21 March 1933) is a British Conservative politician and businessman. ... European redirects here. ... British Aerospace (BAe) was a UK aircraft manufacturer, now part of BAE Systems. ... A South African Air Force A109LUH Agusta (now part of AgustaWestland) is an Italian helicopter manufacturer. ... Sir Leon Brittan, Rt. ... Sikorsky is an American aircraft and helicopter manufacturer. ...

April 1985

The Westland affair originated with Alan Bristow's bid for the company in April 1985. By June Bristow was threatening to end his bid unless the Government assured him that there would be future orders for the company from the Ministry of Defence and that the repayment of over £40 million of launch aid for Westland's newest helicopter from the Department of Trade and Industry was waived. At a Government meeting it was decided that Norman Tebbit should persuade the Bank of England to cooperate with the main creditors in the hope that a recovery plan and new management would end the threat of receivership. Bristow withdrew his bid and Sir John Cuckney became Chairman of Westland. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. ... The Department of Trade and Industry is a United Kingdom government department. ... Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC (born 29 March 1931) is a British Conservative politician and former MP for Chingford, who was born in Southgate in Enfield. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ...

November 1985

Shortly thereafter an American company was thought to be preparing to bid for the company. Cuckney opposed this particular bid, as did Tebbit and Heseltine. Cuckney proposed that a new minority shareholder of 29.9% be introduced. However no British firm was willing to enter this but an American company, Sikorsky, was interested. In November 1985 Sikorsky made an offer and Westland's management were favourable. Heseltine was opposed to this and called a conference of the National Armaments Directors (NAD) of Britain, France, Italy and Germany to sign a document which would commit each country to only purchase helicopters designed and manufactured in Europe. If Westland went ahead with Sikorsky its helicopters, under this new agreement, would be unable to be bought by the four governments. Mrs. Thatcher's and Leon Brittan's view was that it was up to Westland to decide which deal it wanted, and not the Government's.

December 1985

Mrs. Thatcher then convened two meetings to discuss Westland with Heseltine, Brittan, Tebbit, William Whitelaw, Geoffrey Howe and Nigel Lawson on 5 and 6 December. Brittan argued that NAD's opposition should be set aside, but Heseltine, Howe and Tebbit disagreed. Mrs. Thatcher called a Cabinet meeting for 9 December, which Cuckney also attended to give a speech. Cuckney said that it was the management's view that the Sikorsky option was the best one. A majority of the Cabinet meeting agreed to dismiss NAD's opposition but Mrs. Thatcher gave consent to both Heseltine and Brittan to explore a possible European deal which Westland's management could accept. She gave them until 4 pm on 13 December and if by then Westland rejected the European package, NAD's recommendations would be formally rejected. Westland chose Sikorsky instead of the European firms but Heseltine wanted another Cabinet meeting. Mrs. Thatcher rejected his demands because Westland had made up its mind on which deal it would recommend. William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL (June 28, 1918 - July 1, 1999), commonly known as Willie Whitelaw, was a British Conservative politician. ... Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, PC, QC (born 20 December 1926), usually known until 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, is a senior British Conservative politician. ... Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC (born March 11, 1932), a British politician, was Chancellor of the Exchequer between June 1983 and October 1989. ...

At a Cabinet meeting on 12 December Heseltine, without warning, tried to discuss Westland but Mrs. Thatcher was not willing to without the necessary papers. Heseltine was angry and claimed a meeting on Westland had been cancelled but Mrs. Thatcher argued that no such meeting had ever been scheduled. Heseltine wanted his views on the alleged cancelled meeting to be included in the Cabinet minutes but it was not until the Cabinet Secretary noticed it was absent and added it himself. In the British Government, the Cabinet Secretary, or more formally Secretary of the Cabinet, is the senior civil servant in charge of the Cabinet Office, a department that provides administrative support to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the government as a whole. ...

Later, the European consortium came up with a new bid and Heseltine thought the Government's policy should be changed to enable the European bid to succeed. The disagreements between Brittan and Heseltine over Westland became public and were widely reported in the media.

January 1986

Westland's manangement were worried about future business with European governments and Mrs. Thatcher replied to Cuckney to the effect that the British Government would continue to support it.^[1] Heseltine wanted to include less supportive views, but Mrs. 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 Mrs. Thatcher's reassurances to Cuckney, that Westland risked losing future European orders if the Sikorsky option was chosen. Heseltine leaked this letter to the The Times. The letter, on Mrs. 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. Mrs. Thatcher agreed to do this. Lloyds TSB Group plc is a group of financial services companies, based in the United Kingdom, with the registered office in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1785, and under its current name since 1788. ... Her Majestys Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law. ... The Right Honourable Patrick Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, PC, is a British barrister, and politician for the Conservative Party. ... The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom. ... Her Majestys Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales. ... Robert Michael Oldfield Havers (March 10, 1923 - April 1, 1992) was known as Sir Michael Havers from being knighted in 1972 until being created Lord Havers in 1987 on his appointment as Lord Chancellor. ...

A Cabinet meeting on Westland was scheduled for 9 January. Brittan and Heseltine both put forward their views. Mrs. 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. Mrs. Thatcher gave an affirmative to both. Heseltine argued that he should be allowed to reaffirm statements he had already made but Mrs. Thatcher disagreed, arguing that Cabinet collective responsibility should be observed. Helestine was then said to have replied that there had been no collective responsibility in Westland.^[2] 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.^[3] 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 Mrs. Thatcher's intransigence, saying his views were ignored. Mrs. Thatcher sent a letter to Heseltine, as is customary on these occasions.^[4] Nicholas Ridley (February 17, 1929 - March 4, 1993) was a British politician. ... Cabinet collective responsibility is constitutional convention in the states that use the Westminster System. ... Peter Jenkins (d. ... Downing Street For a wider coverage of London, visit the London Portal. ...

Mrs. 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 Mrs. 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. George Kenneth Hotson Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie (September 22, 1931–January 26, 2003), known to many as Gentleman George, was a British politician whose long career as Conservative MP for Ayr (1964–1992) included periods as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1979 to 1986, and... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... The Rt Hon. ... The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the chief minister in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilites for Scotland, at the head of the Scotland Office (formerly The Scottish Office). ... John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, PC (born 1932), is a businessman and British Conservative politician. ...

On 15 January there was a debate on Westland in the Commons in which Mrs. Thatcher replied to Neil Kinnock, the leader of the Labour Party. Mrs. Thatcher listed all the ministerial, committee and Cabinet meetings on Westland.^[5] Heseltine then made a speech criticising the way collective responsibility had been damaged over Westland. Rt. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main democratic socialist[1] political party in the United Kingdom. ...

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. Mrs. Thatcher is said to have asked Brittan four times: "Leon, why didn't you tell me."^[6] 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."^[7] Robert Temple Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster GCB, CVO(born 30 March 1927) is a British life peer and former civil servant. ... In the British Government, the Cabinet Secretary, or more formally Secretary of the Cabinet, is the senior civil servant in charge of the Cabinet Office, a department that provides administrative support to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the government as a whole. ...

On 23 January Mrs. Thatcher had to make a speech to the Commons on Armstrong's inquiry.^[8] A meeting of the 1922 Committee, Conservative back-benchers, demanded Brittan's resignation. On 24 January therefore Brittain resigned because "it has become clear to me that I no longer command the full confidence of my colleagues."^[9] In British politics, the 1922 Committee consists of all backbench Conservative Members of Parliament, though when the party is in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader may also attend its meetings. ...

On 27 January Labour set down an adjournment motion.^[10] Whitelaw, Howe, Wakeham, John Biffen and Douglas Hurd helped Mrs. Thatcher draft her speech for this occasion. Ronald Millar, one of the Prime Minister's friends, was asked to help revise the speech and Mrs. Thatcher remarked to him that she might cease to be Prime Minister by six o'clock that evening if things went bad.^[11] However 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."^[12] Heseltine was frustrated at Kinnock's failure to exploit the moment and claimed that Mrs. Thatcher's statement brought "the politics of the matter to an end" and that he would support the Government in the lobby.^[13] William John Biffen, Baron Biffen, PC (born 3 November 1930), is a Conservative member of the House of Lords. ... The Right Honourable Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC (born March 8, 1930), is a senior British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995. ... Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 - 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative politician, historian and diarist. ...

Subsequent events

Several ironies are present in subsequent events — Heseltine's wish to see a strong European competitor has emerged in the form of the Eurocopter group and Agusta would eventually merge with Westland in 2000 and then acquire GKN's stake in 2004. The Eurocopter Group is a global helicopter manufacturing and support company formed in 1992 from the merger of the helicopter divisions of French Aérospatiale and German DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA). ...

Popular Culture

The affair was satirised in the Yes, Prime Minister episode "Man Overboard". Yes, (prime) minister: Sir Humphrey Appleby, James Jim Hacker, Bernard Woolley Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister are British sitcoms about the struggle between (Dr) James Jim Hacker (played by Paul Eddington), the government minister of the (fictional) Department of Administrative Affairs (and later as Prime Minister) and... This is a list of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister episodes. ... Man Overboard is the ninth episode of the BBC comedy series Yes, Prime Minister and was first broadcast 3 December 1987. ...

Notes

1. ^ Letter to Sir John Cuckney (2 January, 1986)
2. ^ Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (HarperCollins, 1993), p. 432.
3. ^ Peter Jenkins, Mrs Thatcher's Revolution: The Ending of the Socialist Era (Pan, 1989), p. 192.
4. ^ Letter to Michael Heseltine MP (9 January, 1986)
5. ^ HC S: Westland plc (15 January, 1986)
6. ^ Jenkins, p. 199.
7. ^ John Campbell, Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady (Jonathan Cape, 2003), p. 491.
8. ^ HC Stmnt: Westland plc (23 January, 1986)
9. ^ Leon Brittan to MT (24 January, 1986)
10. ^ HC S: Westland plc (27 January, 1986)
11. ^ Ronald Millar, A View from the Wings (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1993), p. 310.
12. ^ Alan Clark, Diaries: In Power, 1983-1992 (Phoenix, 2003), p. 135.
13. ^ Campbell, p. 496.

References

• John Campbell, Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady (Jonathan Cape, 2003).
• Peter Jenkins, Mrs Thatcher's Revolution: The Ending of the Socialist Era (Pan, 1989).
• Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (HarperCollins, 1993).