John Nott 1 February 1932 – 6 November 2024
John Nott, Secretary of State for Defence during the Falklands Conflict, died on Wednesday 6 November 2024
The defence secretary who served in office during The Falklands War has died.
John William Frederic Nott, known for being a sharp-tongued Conservative politician, passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Born on February 1, 1932, Mr Nott would go on to serve in Margaret Thatcher’s government when the Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Islands.
Forces would go on to sail from Portsmouth and defend the British Territory. Mr Nott, of Bideford, Devon, was educated at Bradfield College and was commissioned as a regular officer in the 2nd Gurkha Rifles between 1952 and 1956. Her served in the Malayan Emergency after previously being in the Royal Scots.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
John Nott, the Conservative politician who served as the defence secretary during The Falklands War, has died aged 92. Pictured is him waving to departing servicemen as the liner QE2 leaves Southampton carrying 3000 British troops to South Georgia during the Falklands War, 12th May 1982.
He would go on to continue serving as the MP for St Ives, in Cornwall, between 1966 and 1983. Mr Notts would become the first secretary of state for trade, before moving to the defence role in a cabinet reshuffle. He was criticised by Royal Navy chiefs in 1981 over the Defence White Paper, which outlined cuts to forward naval expenditure.
The Argentine forces invaded The Falklands on April 2, 1982, with Mr Nott’s speech clarifying the government’s position leading to calls from members of his own party to resign. He believed that the Archipelago could not be recaptured once seized by the Argentinians. In the days that followed, he twice offered to resign, with Margaret Thatcher declining.
John Nott, former secretary of state for defence, pictured in May 1979. | Steve Burton/Keystone/Getty Images
He remained as part of a five-man war cabinet, with Mrs Thatcher and chief of the defence staff, Admiral Lewin, taking key decisions. After successfully reclaiming The Falklands, the British government invested heavily in military garrisons, known informally at “Fortress Falklands”.
Mr Nott asked to stand down at the end of the conflict, but Mrs Thatcher declined. He would go on to be known for a BBC television interview with Sir Robin Day during the Conservative party conference in October 1982. After being asked persistently about cuts to the Royal Navy’s budget and criticism from top naval brass, Mr Nott took off his microphone and walked away live on TV stating: “I’m fed up with this interview. Really, it’s ridiculous.”
When reprimanded afterwards by the chief whip, Michael Jopling, he replied: “You are just the chief whip, and I do not think anyone is going to take much notice of your view”. Mr Nott would go on to leave politics at the age of 50, entitling his memoirs Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.
In her recounts, Mrs Thatcher said he was “a mixture of gold, dross and mercury” – never forgiving his decision to leave politics so young. She liked his humour and controlled irascibility, but their relations would become strained in 1981. Mr Nott would be awarded with a ECB, leaving him disappointed as his grandfather had been granted a KGCB. Compared to the peerages granted to the majority of Mrs Thatcher’s previous cabinet members, and many junior ministers, it was considered by some as a sign of disapproval.
Mr Nott would join the merchant bank Lazard, becoming chairman and chief executive of its London operation and working for them until 1990. He would go on to take on the chairmanship of Etam and lead Hillsdown, a food conglomerate, in 1992.
In retirement, he distanced himself from politics and business to restore his 200-acre farm in St Erth, Cornwall – enjoying hunting, fishing and shooting. Mr Nott was considered proud yet sensitive, not enjoying the criticisms which often come to politicians of senior ministerial positions. Despite this, he was also thought of as a man of capacity and know-how, more than a merchant banker turned politician.Source: Freddie Webb
Source: Freddie Webb
Defence Reporter
Published 7th Nov 2024, 07:45 GMT
