Downing Street Years - Margaret Thatcher [267]
I now knew from Michael’s behaviour that unless he were checked there were no limits to what he would do to secure his objectives at Westland. Cabinet collective responsibility was being ignored and my own authority as Prime Minister was being publicly flouted. This had to stop.
Westland was placed on the agenda for the Cabinet of Thursday 9 January. At that meeting I began by rehearsing the decisions which had been made by the Government. I then ran over the damaging press comment which there had been in the New Year. I said that if the situation continued, the Government would have no credibility left. I had never seen a clearer demonstration of the damage done to the coherence and standing of a Government when the principle of collective responsibility was ignored. Leon Brittan then Michael Heseltine put their respective cases. After some discussion, I began to sum up by pointing out that the time was approaching when the company and its bankers at a shareholders’ meeting had to decide between the two consortia. It was legally as well as politically important that they should come to their decision without further intervention directly or indirectly by ministers or by other people acting on their behalf. That must be accepted and observed by everyone and there must be no lobbying or briefing directly or indirectly. Because of the risks of misinterpretation during this period of sensitive commercial negotiations and decisions, answers to questions should be cleared inter-departmentally through the Cabinet Office so as to ensure that all answers given were fully consistent with the policy of the Government.
Everyone else accepted this. But Michael Heseltine said that it would be impossible to clear every answer through the Cabinet Office and that although he did not envisage making any new statements he must be able to confirm statements already made and answer questions of fact about procurement requirements without any delay. I suspect that no one present saw this as anything other than a ruse. No one sided with Michael. He was quite isolated. I again summed up, repeating my earlier remarks and adding that consideration should also be given to the preparation under Cabinet Office auspices of an interdepartmentally agreed fact sheet which could be drawn upon as a source of answers to questions. I then emphasized the importance of observing collective responsibility in this and in all matters. At this Michael Heseltine erupted. He claimed that there had been no collective responsibility in the discussion of Westland. He alleged a breakdown in the propriety of Cabinet discussions. He could not accept the decision recorded in my summing up. He must therefore leave the Cabinet. He gathered his papers together and left a Cabinet united against him.
I have learnt that other colleagues at the meeting were stunned by what had happened. I was not. Michael had made his decision and that was that. I already knew whom I wanted to succeed him at Defence: George Younger was precisely the right man for the job, which I knew he wanted.
I called a short break and walked through to the Private Office. Nigel Wicks, my principal private secretary, brought George Younger out; I offered him, and he accepted, the Defence post. I asked my office to telephone Malcolm Rifkind to offer him George’s former post of Scottish Secretary, which he too subsequently accepted. We contacted the Queen to ask her approval of these appointments. Then I returned to Cabinet, continued the business and by the end of the