Minister’s aide accused of leaking letter

Press, 24 January 1986, Page 6

Minister’s aide accused of leaking letter

NZPA-Reuter London The British Trade Secretary, Mr Leon Brittan, is under pressure to resign over the Westland helicopter affair after allegations linking a top woman aide with the leak of a secret Government letter.

The Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, was preparing a statement for later today defending, the beleaguered Mr Brittan.

The former Defence Secretary, Mr Michael Heseltine, has said that the leak of the letter had been used to discredit him in a battle with Mr Brittan and Mrs Thatcher over the future of the near-bankrupt Westland helicopter firm.

Mr Heseltine resigned over the Westland row on January 9.

Routine business in the House of Commons was repeatedly interrupted yesterday as Opposition members of Parliament demanded a full disclosure after reports that an official inquiry had traced

the leak to a close Brittan aide.

A Labour Opposition member, Mr Tam Dalyell, used his Parliamentary privilege to name the suspect aide as Mr Brittan’s head of information, Colette Bowes. The leak of a Government document is potentially in contravention of the Official Secrets Act and subject to criminal charges. Ms Bowes, aged 39, refused to comment and.’ Brittan’s Trade and Industry department referred

all inquiries to Mrs Thatcher’s official residence at Downing Street. The letter she is alleged to have leaked was from the Solicitor-General, Sir Patrick Mayhew, a top Government law officer, to Mr Heseltine.

Dated three days before Mr Heseltine resigned, it accused the Defence Secretary of “material inaccuracies” in his campaign to promote a European rescue for Westland in competition with a rival bid led by the American firm, Sikorsky.

Within two hours of copies being circulated to other departments, including the Trade and Industry and the Prime Minister’s office, details of the letter were leaked to the Press Association, Britain’s domestic news agency.

Mr Brittan narrowly survived calls for his resignation a week ago after he was accused of bringing pressure to bear on British Aerospace, leader of a European consortium bidding for a share of Westland, to pull out of the deal.