Breaking the Code (89 page)

Authors: Gyles Brandreth

BOOK: Breaking the Code

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All I can say is that in my time in the Whips’ Office we helped people with mental problems, marital problems, drink problems, financial problems, and more besides, but I don’t know of any case where we covered up for anyone who we believed to be guilty of a serious criminal offence.

Reflecting on all this makes me glad that I published this book, even though, in doing
so, I know that I upset colleagues who felt I had betrayed them. I broke the whips’ code of silence – something no whip had ever done before. Whips
never
talk about what they do or how they set about it. That’s the rule. As the Chief Whip pointed out to me at the time, ‘Our mystery is part of our potency.’

But mystery makes for mischief. Do we want government run like an episode of
House of Cards
? The trouble with operating in secret is that it encourages those not-in-the-know to believe that dark deeds are being done in the murky corridors of power. Occasionally perhaps they are, but mostly they are not. On Monday of this week I went to the party for Sandra Howard’s new novel. It was Michael Howard’s birthday and a lot of the old gang were there – Ken Clarke, Norman Lamont, John Gummer, Peter Lilley, Norman Fowler, several of them, of course, whips in their day and all of them, in my estimation, good people. In my experience, most politicians are.

706
It did. Kenneth Clarke and David Willetts were among the ‘male, pale and stale’ members of the government who were dropped in favour of fresher, female faces, and Michael Gove stepped down as Education Secretary to become Chief Whip.

707
Trevor ‘Tim’ Fortescue, 1916–2008, MP for Liverpool Garston 1966–74.

INDEX

A/Drinks meetings
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
Abbott, Diane
1
Ackroyd, Peter
1
Adams, Gerry
1
Adler, Larry
1
Aids
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
n
Ainsworth, Peter
1
Aitken, Jonathan
1. Cabinet prospects
  1
2. Conference party
  1
3. evensong address
  1
4. GB’s first impression
  1
5. and Nixon
  1
  ,
  2
6. prison sentence likely
  1
7. resignation
  1
8. Stephen Milligan as PPS
  1
  ,
  2
9. supper parties
  1
  ,
  2
  ,
  3
10. Treasury Chief Secretary
  1
Allason, Rupert
1
Allen, Graham
1
Allen, Mary
1
,
2
Amess, David
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
Amiel, Barbara
1
n
Ancram, Michael
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
n,
8
,
9
Andrew, Prince
1
,
2
Anglesey, Henry Paget, Marquess of
1
Anne, Princess Royal
1
,
2
Arbuthnot, James
1
,
2
Archer, Jeffrey, Lord
1. Anglia share dealings
  1
  ,
  2
  ,
  3
2. cancels champagne and shepherd’s pie party
  1
3. Conference speech
  1
4. Conservative non-person
  1
5. determination and ambition
  1
6. friendship with GB
  1
7. London Mayor ambitions
  1
  ,
  2
8. perjury charge
  1
9. political ambition
  1
10. and Referendum Party
  1
11. visit to Chester
  1
Archer, William
1
Arnold, Sir Thomas
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8
Ashby, David
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8
Ashdown, Paddy
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8
Asher, Jane
1
Ashton, Joe
1
,
2
,
3
Asquith, Herbert Henry
1
Astor, William, Lord
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
Atkins, Eileen
1
,
2
Atkins, Robert
1
,
2
,
3
Atkinson, Geoffrey
1
,
2
,
3
Audley, Harry
1
Ayres, Rosalind
1
n

Baker, Kenneth
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
Baker, Nicholas
1
Baldry, Tony
1
,
2
Baldwin, Stanley
1
Banks, Matthew
1
Banks, Tony
1
,
2
Barbour, Anthony and Diana
1
Barker, Tom
1
Barlow, Stephen (Stevie)
1
n,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
Barnett Legh, Camilla
1
Barrit, Des
1
Bates, Michael
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
Bauwens, Mona
1
Beale, Simon Russell
1
Beckett, Margaret
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
Bedser, Sir Alec
1
Begbie, Stuart
1
n
Bell, Martin
1
n,
2
,
3
Bell, Melissa
1
,
2
Bell, Tim
1
Bellingham, Lynda
1
n,
2
Belloc, Hilaire
1
Benn, Tony
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8
,
9
Bennett, Jill
1
Benson, Frank
1
Beresford, Sir Paul
1
Berkeley, Michael
1
Better English Campaign
1
,
2
Bevin, Ernest
1
Bhutto, Benazir
1
Biffen, John
1
,
2
Birt, John
1
,
2
,
3
Black, Cilla
1
Blackwell, Norman
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
Blair, Cherie
1
,
2
,
3
Blair, Tony
1. appoints first government
  1
2. and Cherie
  1
3. Clause IV
  1
4. and defence
  1
5. ‘demon eyes’
  1
  n
6. and Michael Howard
  1
7. and Princess Diana’s death
  1
8. shadow Home Secretary
  1
  n
9. smiles at GB
  1
10. Third Way
  1
11. WI speech
  1
Blatch, Emily, Baroness
1
,
2
Blunkett, David
1
,
2
n
Body, Sir Richard
1
,
2
,
3
Bonsor, Sir Nicholas
1
Booth, Hartley
1
,
2
,
3
Boothroyd, Basil
1
Boothroyd, Betty (Madam Speaker)
1
,
2
Bose, Mihir
1
Bottomley, Peter
1
Bottomley, Virginia
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
n,
6
,
7
,
8
,
9
,
10
Boulton, Adam
1
Bowis, John
1
,
2
Bowles, Peter and Sue
1
Box, Sarah
1
Boyd-Carpenter, Lord
1
Boyson, Rhodes
1
Bradford, 7th Earl of (Richard)
1
n,
2
Bragg, Melvyn, Lord
1
Bramall, Field Marshal Lord
1
Brandreth, Aphra (GB’s daughter)
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
Brandreth, Benet (GB’s son)
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
Brandreth, Gyles
1. Buckingham Palace garden party
  1
  ,
  2
  1. BUSINESS INTERESTS
    1. inaccurate Complete Editions story
      1
      ,
      2
    2. inaccurate ETB grant story
      1
      ,
      2
    3. Paris business meeting
      1
    4. Spear’s Games
      1
    5. ‘grooming’ experience at school
      1
  2. HEALTH
    1. back problems
      1
    2. medical check-ups
      1
    3. ‘high priest of trivia’
      1
      ,
      2
    4. holidays
      1
      ,
      2
      ,
      3
      ,
      4
  3. MEDIA
    1. Andrew Marr show
      1
    2. BBC dinner
      1
    3. Behind the Headlines
      (BBC
      1
      )
      2
    4. Bookmark
      programme
      1
    5. Breaking the Code
      1
    6. Countdown
      1
      n,
      2
    7. films for ITN
      1
    8. Frost Over the World
      1
    9. House to House
      1
    10. How to be Chancellor
      1
    11. Loose Ends
      1
    12. Newsnight
      1
      ,
      2
    13. Question Time
      1
    14. This Is Your Life
      1
    15. TV-am
      1
    16. West Country gardens filming
      1
    17. New York visit
      1
    18. Old Bailey lunch
      1
    19. Oxford University
      1
    20. pantomime
      1
      ,
      2
      ,
      3
      ,
      4
  4. POLITICAL CAREER
    1. 1997 defeat
      1
    2. adopted as Chester parliamentary candidate
      1
    3. appointed to Whips’ Office
      1
    4. black ministerial box memento
      1
    5. Cabinet menagerie
      1
    6. Conference speech (1994)
      1
    7. declines Beckenham seat
      1
    8. efforts to find a constituency
      1
    9. elected MP for Chester
      1
    10. false rumours of financial difficulties
      1
    11. gay rights vote
      1
    12. Marriage Act (1994)
      1
      ,
      2
    13. massage parlour false allegation
      1
      ,
      2
    14. PPS to Stephen Dorrell
      1
    15. promotion within Whips’ Office
      1
      ,
      2
    16. Under the Jumper
      1
      n,
      2
    17. Venice Midnight,
      (novel)
      1
      n,
      2
    18. Wimbledon
      1
      ,
      2
    19. Zipp
      1
      ,
      2
Brandreth, Jeremiah
1
Brandreth, Saethryd (GB’s daughter)
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
n,
6
,
7
,
8
n,
9
Brandt, Willy
1
Bratby, John and Patti
1
,
2
Bray, Jeremy
1
Bremner, Rory
1
Bridges, George
1
Bright, Graham
1
n,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
Brittan, Sir Leon
1
Brooke, Peter
1
n,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8
,
9
Broome, John
1
Brown, Faith
1
Brown, George
1
Brown, Gordon
1. GB visit to Downing Street
  1
2. leadership aspirations
  1
3. Maastricht Bill
  1
4. Prime Minister
  1
5. sexuality discussed
  1
6. shadow Chancellor
  1
  ,
  2
  ,
  3
  ,
  4
7. Shakespeare birthday celebrations
  1
Brown, Michael
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
Brown, Michèle (GB’s wife)
1. birthday celebrations
  1
  ,
  2
2. charms the selection committee
  1
  ,
  2
3. Complete Editions apology
  1
4. constituency support for GB
  1
  ,
  2
  ,
  3
  ,
  4
  ,
  5
5. English Tourist Board inaccurate story
  1
6. and Queen Elizabeth
  1
7. Seitz’s leaving party
  1
8. support for GB as whip
  1
9. thoughts on GB’s parliamentary career
  1
  ,
  2
  ,
  3
10. Valentine’s Day supper
  1
11. wedding anniversaries
  1
  ,
  2
  ,
  3
  ,
  4
12. whips’ Christmas party
  1
Browning, Angela
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
Bruno, Frank
1
Brunson, Michael
1
Bryant, Chris
1
Bryn Estyn children’s home
1
BSE crisis
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
Buck, Sir Antony
1
Budgen, Nick
1
,
2
,
3
Budget
1. 1992
  1
2. 1993
  1
  ,
  2
  ,
  3
3. shadow
  1
Bulloch, Sally
1
Burgess, Anthony
1
Burns, Simon
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
Burrell, Paul
1
Burt, Alistair
1
,
2
,
3
Burton, Mr
1
Bush, Charlotte
1

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