In January 1986, the Trade and Industry Secretary, Leon Brittan, resigned over the Westland affair. He had authorized the leaking of a letter from the Solicitor General that accused his cabinet colleague Michael Heseltine of inaccuracies. At the time, Brittan said he had misunderstood Margaret Thatcher’s wishes.
In April 1989, on the television program The Thatcher Factor, he said he had acted on the “express” instructions of Charles Powell and Bernard Ingham, Thatcher’s two senior advisers.