PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
Mr Michael Heseltine, MP for Henley and a former defence secretary, formally challenged Mrs Thatcher as Prime Minister `to avoid the calamity of a Labour govern- ment,' having been assured that he would get the support of more than 100 MPs on the first ballot, to be held on 20 November. He promised a fundamental review of the poll tax and a new style of Cabinet govern- ment. After addressing Europhiles in Hamburg, Mr Heseltine returned to the House of Commons in time to hear Sir Geoffrey Howe, former deputy prime minister, make a resignation speech which several MPs described as the most devas- tating they had heard in 30 years. He invited 'others to consider their own re- sponse to the tragic conflict of loyalties', to the Prime Minister and to the nation. The previous day, at the Lord Mayor's ban- quet, Mrs Thatcher said she was still at the crease and the bowling was going to get hit all round the ground. Richard Needham, a Northern Ireland Minister, apologised to the Prime Minister after he called her a cow in a private car telephone conversation which was tapped by paramilitary forces and published. In the Bradford North by-election Labour increased its majority to 9,514 and Conservatives came third. The Chancellor said there would be an early recovery from recession and a sharp fall in inflation next year. Four men including a RUC officer were killed in County Armagh by the IRA. Police found a large cache of IRA explosives in London. Shell and British Petroleum revealed they had made £1 billion in windfall profits because of the Gulf crisis. A report on the Piper Alpha disaster criticised the Depart- ment of Energy and Occidental for slack- ness over safety. Terry Marsh, former world light-welterweight boxing champion, was cleared of attempting to murder his former manager, Frank Warren. Rochdale Social Services were criticised in a Govern- ment report for their failure to give parents representation in cases of alleged child abuse. Rupert Bear, a cartoon figure, celebrated his 70th birthday and the Sun's `page three girl' its 20th. Weather forecas- ters of the Old Codger school predicted a hard winter because squirrels are burying so many nuts and the leaves are still on oak trees. Malcolm Muggeridge died at 87.
PRESIDENT Bush said that he was sub- stantially increasing American forces in the Gulf. The Soviet Foreign Minister said a military option in the Gulf could not be ruled out if other means of freeing Kuwait failed. Iraq was unexpectedly reported to possess a medium-range surface-to-surface missile which could threaten American carriers in the Gulf. A man fired a shotgun twice in the air at celebrations in Red Square in front of President Gorbachev. The President said that despite shortages and rising crime the clock should not be turned back. Mr V. P. Singh, the prime minister of India, resigned after a vote of no confidence in parliament and Mr Chan- dra Shekhar took over the post with support from Rajiv Gandhi's Congress party. Mrs Mary Robinson was elected president of the Irish Republic. Emperor Akihito was enthroned in Japan. The King of Nepal proclaimed a new democrat!c constitution. Eleven people were killed In New Zealand by a man who went berserk in a South Island village. Women drivers demonstrated against the Saudi Arabian ban against them by driving 15 cars through the centre of Riyadh. The Dutch parliament took the first step towards making sexual intercourse legal fromthe
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