Former British cabinet minister Cecil Parkinson has died aged 84 after a long battle with cancer, his family has announced.
The Tory grandee served in a variety of senior posts in Margaret Thatcher’s governments.
A family spokesman said: “Cecil passed away on January 22nd after a long battle with cancer.
“We shall miss him enormously. As a family, we should like to pay tribute to him as a beloved husband to Ann and brother to Norma, and a supportive and loving father to Mary, Emma and Joanna and grandfather to their children.
“We also salute his extraordinary commitment to British public life as a member of parliament, cabinet minister and peer — together with a distinguished career in business.”
Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said on Twitter: "Sad to hear of death of Cecil Parkinson. I worked with him when he was party chairman in 1997-8 – he was there in our hour of greatest need."
Former cabinet minister Sir Malcolm Rifkind said that, if Lord Parkinson had become foreign secretary, as Mrs Thatcher intended, he would have been well-placed to succeed her as party leader.
"Cecil Parkinson would have been the most natural candidate to succeed Margaret Thatcher because she would have had tremendous confidence in him as someone who shared her basic theme," he told BBC News. "In her words he was 'one of us'. He shared her views, her thoughts, her ideas. They came from the same position on the political spectrum and therefore she was comfortable with him and had confidence in him.
“In addition to that, at a personal level he was able to charm her. He was a very good-looking, very handsome man. She was attracted by men who were both good-looking but also had strong principles and strong views.”
PA