Documents highlighting the extent of Cecil Parkinson’s fall from grace have been published for the first time 30 years on from the lovechild scandal which shook the Thatcher government.
The news that ex-party chairman Mr Parkinson’s former secretary, Sara Keays, was pregnant with his child following a 12-year affair was first reported in October 1983 and eventually forced his resignation from the cabinet.
Margaret Thatcher’s private papers from that year have now been made available to the public and include papers which appear to confirm she was grooming him as her heir.
They also include previously unseen resignation letters, in which she describes the situation as “tragic”.
Two handwritten notes show the then prime minister intended to promote Mr Parkinson, who became Lord Parkinson, to foreign secretary before the scandal broke.
In one she wrote simply: “FS CP.”
The move has long been speculated about but the notes are seen as the first solid evidence.
Chris Collins, from the Margaret Thatcher Foundation, said such a move would have catapulted Mr Parkinson up the party hierarchy, effectively anointing him as her successor.
“It’s only speculative that she considered him to be her successor but it would appear that she was very serious about him indeed,” he added.
“He had certainly risen very fast and she knew that by promoting him in this way, she would create an atmosphere around him.”
The revelation put paid to Mrs Thatcher’s plans for Mr Parkinson and she instead opted to make him secretary for trade and industry.
Five months later, the scandal was reported on the front pages and within a week Mr Parkinson resigned.
The archive is open to the public online at www.margaretthatcher.org.