abstract:The Westland affair in 1985-86 was an episode in which the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Defence Minister Michael Heseltine went public over a complex cabinet dispute with questions raised about integrity and which senior official was not telling the truth.
He had to handle the Commons at a time when there were some highly contentious issues about, including the miners' strike of 1984-5 and the Westlandaffair of 1986.
The affair, over the future of the troubled Westland company and whether it would link up with an American or European company, led to the resignation of both the then Defence Secretary, Michael Heseltine, and Sir Leon.