Latest editorial
PM was desperate to rehabilitate her darling Parkinson
MARGARET THATCHER considered bringing disgraced minister Cecil Parkinson back into her cabinet two years before he returned but was told such a move could prove politically damaging, archive documents show.
The married trade and industry secretary, a firm favourite of the prime minister, was forced to stand down in 1983 after it was revealed that his former secretary Sara Keays was pregnant with his child.
He eventually returned to the cabinet in 1987 but newly released documents from the former prime minister’s private papers show she seriously considered his return in 1985.
More from this author
Anti-racist and faith groups lead vigil for terrorist attack victims
Similar stories
KEITH FLETT looks back 50 years to when the Iron Lady was elected Tory leader…
MAT COWARD resurrects the radical spirit of early Labour’s overlooked matriarch, whose tireless activism and financial support laid the foundations for the party’s early success