PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
The Queen's private secretary, Sir Wil- liam Heseltine, wrote to the Times in order to dismiss as 'preposterous' the suggestion that the Queen might depart from constitu- tional principles she had followed for 34 years. He claimed that the Queen's press secretary, Mr Michael Shea, had 'said nothing which could reasonably bear the interpretation put upon it' by the Sunday Times. The editor of the Sunday Times replied: 'For some time. . . unattributable briefings and guidance have been given to various journalists by the Palace which clearly distance the attitudes of the Royal Family from the Thatcher Government.' The Duke of Edinburgh opened the Com- monwealth Games, held in Edinburgh and boycotted by 31 of the 58 members of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Sir Geoffrey Howe again visited Zambia, where he was told by President Kaunda that he had been received 'out of love and respect for that young lady Queen Eli- zabeth'. The President continued: 'Sir Geoffrey, you people will not be forgiven by history. I'm telling you that because this thing is about to explode. . . . You and Reagan are kissing apartheid, embracing it.' Sir Geoffrey remained calm. He held an unproductive meeting with President Botha and returned to London, his mission a failure. The Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British dependency, sack- ed the Chief Minister and his three minis- ters for corruption, and temporarily res- tored direct rule. Car bombs killed 57 people in Beirut. The Australian dollar suffered a dramatic fall in value. Mr Ted Pillsbury, director of the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, was offered the direc- torship of the National Gallery in London, but rejected it. Chaos seemed to surround the choice of a substitute.
MRS Thatcher defended Sir Robert Arm- strong, the Cabinet secretary, and other officials from criticism by the Commons Defence Select Committee of their role in the Westland affair. She said she was proud to be able to stand up for her civil servants. It was shortly afterwards dis- closed that during the Westland affair, Sir Michael Havers, the Attorney-General, had obliged Sir Robert to hold an inquiry, into the leak of the Solicitor-General's letter, by threatening to send round the police. The House of Commons rose for the summer recess. It was reported that Mrs Thatcher is to have an operation on her right hand for Dupuytren's Contrac- ture. Three RUC officers were murdered by gunmen in South Down. The 'Stockwell strangler' claimed his eighth victim, an 80-year-old woman. A man was later arrested. The police arrested 65 people, 55 of whom were charged, in a drugs raid on the Afro-Caribbean Culture Centre in Railton Road, Brixton. Miss Linda Bellos, Labour leader of Lambeth council, said the police wanted a riot. The teaching unions and the local education authorities reached an agreement about pay, subject to the Government providing much more money. The Bishop of Durham said that Church schools should be dissolved: 'We must face up to our pluralistic society.' Osbert Lan- caster and Averell Harriman died, and nine people perished in a railway accident north of Hull. Karpov and Kasparov began their return match in London. England and New Zealand drew the first Test. MSG
Previous page
