To be sickened to hear all the tributes being paid to Cecil Parkinson

[wasonthelist]

The "father" who refused to have anything at all to do withhis daughter -

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/12120477/The-only-promise-Cecil-Parkinson-ever-kept-never-to-see-his-daughter.html

Just read the article. What a vile man.

That injunction is sickening. How dare a court allow that level of censorship on a child's life. All to protect the parent who wanted to hide her. Hideous.

One of my pet hates in life is the way that someone dying completely changes the way they are spoken about. As if death somehow negates every flaw.

Yanbu. Despicable man.

Actually, death gives us an opportunity to say what we really think (you can't libel the dead) - but someone always comes along and says it's not nice.

I think it's right that the extreme power of the courts is brought up. flora's childhood was blighted by this injunction. There is no way that such a draconian court injunction could be justified. It is newsworthy that a politician could malipulate the courts to his own ends.

YANBU. I remember the entire thing and he was utterly vile to his child and to the mother of his child.

What a git. Always regarded him as a git anyway actually, but further proof if proof were needed..

I was aware he'd died, but wasn't aware of any tributes, mainly because when I heard my first thought was also

he will always be remembered as the man who had an affair with his secretary and disowned his own daughter

whatever his political success it will always be over shadowed by this

and assumed everyone else thought the same

Disgusting man, he seemed to treat all of the females in his life like shit.

These super injuctions aren't rare amongst the rich and famous of course

www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/top-gear/9064710/Jeremy-Clarksons-injunction-was-terrifying-says-ex-wife.html

www.theguardian.com/law/datablog/2011/aug/05/superinjunctions-gagging-orders-injunctions-list

Good old lawyers

On my local radio this afternoon a presenter who'd interviewed him said "He was so charming you just forgot all the awkward questions you were going to ask him.

I think it is OK to start a thread about this - not in bad taste at all.
I think if he had had a male child by Sara his attitude would have been different. There's a bit in Alan Clark's diaries where he (Alan Clark) says as much. I don't have much sympathy for Sara - she must have known what she was doing, and I think he isn't a very nice person despite his 'charm.' He should have treated Flora better.

At the time Sarah Keays was portrayed as the awful mistress who had brought CP low and was vilified. I can only imagine that with the press interest at the time it seemed sensible to put some measures in place to stop the press chasing them. Hence her not opposing an initial ruling.
She's never been able to escape what she did. Flora was entirely innocent.
Parkinson was an oily cad. Thatcher was deeply susceptible to favouring men she found attractive. Him. Reagan. Heseltine. Bizarre for the 'Iron Lady'.

I remember the scandal although I was very young at the time. Neither parent came off well to be honest. Poor kid. Poor wife. What a mess.

I knew Cecil Parkinson. I'm not defending his flaws but life is rarely as straightforward as played out in the media.

He leaves four children who will all be grieving to some extent now. I'm not sure how this thread will help anyone, including Flora.

This is a tangent but giddy, how did she favour them? I don't know much about 80s politics!

Sara Keays and her family live local to me and I must have been about 9 when the story broke. She lived right next to our school and I can remember the journalists being outside the gates. Having read about it since it was despicable what he did to poor Flora, unforgivable.

Humble314 she always had her male favourites - Cecil Parkinson, John Moore, John Major. She was definitely grooming Cecil Parkinson to succeed her before scandal brought him down. She promoted John Major very rapidly - he went from quite an obscure role straight to Foreign Secretary, then after only a few months to Chancellor.

Well take CP for example. She promoted him very quickly and gazed at him differently. With Reagan she was positively purring. She had a real thing about a certain type of man (as I suppose we all do to a certain extent) and it was odd to watch when she was supposed to be so steely.

YANBU, OP. The way he disowned his own daughter was disgraceful.

Yes, she married Dennis but purred for Reagan and enjoyed working with Heseltine!

I'm not sure how this thread will help anyone, including Flora.

I didn't start the thread to help anyone. Nothing I can do will help Flora or the others.

I think Flora might find it validating that the public believes her own father should have acknowledged her.

He got very bad press then however so did she got being a single parent. Thankfully times have changed

No really, times haven't changed. This thread clearly shows that. This is why men are able to have children as and when they choose and abandon them without any kind of social come back whatsoever.

I heard the news on the radio - it was either radio 4 or 5 - and it was notable for being reported in a very muted way in comparison with the deaths of other recent famous figures.
Very little of the usual gushing tributes and ending with the reminder his affair.