A story in the London Evening Standard on June 30 about the sale of an imposing London house once owned by prominent Tory MPs referred to plotting that had taken place in it to make Churchill prime minister in May 1940. In a letter published in the Standard on July 5, Alistair Lexden added some further details to the story.
Machinations at 112 Eaton Square played a big part in bringing Churchill to power in May 1940 (“House where MPs sealed fate of Chamberlain is sold for £25m”, 30 June) but some hoped that the property’s owner, Leo Amery, would become prime minister of the coalition government. Labour leaders said Amery was “the Tory whom they would soonest serve under”. Thirty-five years on, some Tory MPs felt that Leo’s son, Julian, should replace Ted Heath as leader. He took calls in the same drawing room where the earlier conspiracy had taken place, and while he decided he lacked the support to rival Mrs Thatcher, he said: “This room has had its place in political history confirmed on a second occasion”.
Alistair Lexden
House of Lords