How Major ‘gloated’ over Rees-Mogg Snr

PROVING THAT history repeats itself, today’s release of papers from the National Archive reveals the Prime Minister of the day “in full gloat” over defeating a thorn in the Cabinet’s side named Rees-Mogg, as the Conservatives squabbled over Europe.

It was in 1993 that William Rees-Mogg, inset, a former editor of and the father of the MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, sought a judicial review into the Government’s plan to ratify the Maastricht Treaty, the agreement which led to the creation of the euro and which had already split Conservative MPs.

The archived files show Mr Major’s delight when told the judges had ruled against Lord Rees-Mogg. Informed that the Foreign Office was “exercising restraint” in the hope that critics would “abandon their expensive and pointless exercise”, Mr Major replied: “A full gloat is merited.” The files also show that as the economy struggled, Mr Major sought inspiration from the unlikely source of the British Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. He requested details of the policies for economic regeneration advocated in the 1920s and 1930s by Mosley and by Winston Churchill when he was Chancellor. They included an emergency pensions scheme to encourage early retirement, releasing jobs for others. Mr Major’s response to the paper is not recorded and there is no evidence of it having influenced his plans. JOHN MAJOR was rebuked by his personal private secretary for using too many clichés and redundant phrases in his speeches, today’s newly released archives reveal.

Andrew Turnbull, now Lord Turnbull, criticised his boss for duplicating adjectives such as “complete and full”, “crudely and brutally” and “doubt and hesitant”, and for overusing “selfevident”.

“If something is self-evident it can simply be stated,” pointed our Mr Turnbull, who added that by pointing out such traits he was “at risk of having a cushion thrown at me”.

Mr Major, who had been in office for only two months, replied: “I don’t have a cushion to hand. You are right – I am too verbose sometimes, with unnecessary addition.” THE PRIME Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home was kept in the dark about one of the biggest spy scandals of the Cold War because his Home Secretary did not want to “add to his burden”, according to files newly released by the National Archive.

In 1964 Sir Anthony Blunt, the surveyor of the Queen’s pictures, sensationally confessed that he was the so-called “fourth man” in the Cambridge spy ring, which also included Kim Philby, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.

He admitted – following an offer of immunity from prosecution – passing thousands of documents to the Russian KGB while working as an officer for MI5 during the Second World War.

But when his treachery was finally made public in 1979, Margaret Thatcher told an astonished House of Commons that Sir Alec had not been informed of Blunt’s admission even though he was Prime Minister at the time.

The then-Home Secretary, Henry Brooke, took it upon himself not to tell Sir Alec – a decision he admitted may well have been a mistake.

In a note to Mrs Thatcher, he wrote: “I have written to Alec to explain why in April 1964 I did not bring him in on what was happening about Blunt and to say how sorry I am if in my wellmeant effort not to add to his burden I may, with hindsight, have exercised my discretion wrongly.”

The files also show how, following Blunt’s death in 1983, Mrs Thatcher rejected an offer to settle his estate duties through the donation of an old master, bought by Blunt in the 1930s for just £100, and now valued at £350,000.

Mrs Thatcher was initially enthusiastic when his estate offered it to the Government at the knock-down price of £190,000.

But she changed her mind when she learned it would mean the taxman losing £200,000 in duties with Blunt’s estate benefiting by £40,000.