Grandee Carrington dies aged 99
TRIBUTES have poured in to statesman and military hero Lord Carrington, who resigned from Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet over the Falklands conflict, after his death at 99.
The last surviving member of Sir Winston Churchill’s post-war government was remembered as “a lovely man and a great public servant” renowned for his kindness, brilliance and wisdom.
Prime Minister Theresa May said he was “respected globally for his remarkable lifetime of service”, adding: “There can be few people who have served our country for as long, and with such dedication.”
Born Peter Carrington in 1919, the Eton-educated peer’s son won the Military Cross as a tank commander with the Grenadier Guards in 1945.
He took up his seat in the Lords in 1946 and went on to become the oldest and longest-serving member of Parliament’s second chamber.
In 1982, while foreign secretary, he tendered a dignified resignation after acknowledging the failure to foresee the Argentinian invasion of the islands in the South Atlantic.
During his long career he fulfilled many other roles including defence secretary, chairman of the Tory Party and secretary general of Nato.
Ex-PM David Cameron hailed him as “a lovely man and a great public servant”. Sir John Major said he felt “immensely privileged” to know him.
MP David Lidington, in whose Buckinghamshire constituency the peer lived, said he was “very sad”.