The Times Obituary

Parliamentarians from across the political divide have paid tribute to the former Tory Foreign Secretary Francis Pym, who died early today after a long illness.

Lord Pym served as Chief Whip and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under Ted Heath and then Defence Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons under Margaret Thatcher.

In April 1982 he was named Foreign Secretary, replacing Lord Carrington, who had resigned over Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands.

Pym won plaudits as Foreign Secretary during and after the Falklands conflict but was sacked after Mrs Thatcher's landslide re-election win in June 1983. In the run-up to that election, as the unofficial leader of the Cabinet "wets", he had suggested that a Thatcher landslide might not be the best thing for the country.

He stood down from the Commons at the 1987 election but was ennobled as Baron Pym of Sandy and went on to play an active part in the House of Lords.

Gordon Brown led the tributes tonight, praising him as a "man of great decency and principle". Sir John Major, the former prime minister, said that Pym had been his "neighbour, mentor and friend" when he started out in politics. "He served his country in an exemplary fashion, in war and peace, in the Commons and the Lords," Sir John said.

But although he won plaudits for his handling of the diplomatic side of the Falklands conflict, his colleagues reserved special praise for Pym's skill in guiding through the 1972 Bill that took Britain into the European Economic Community, in the face of Heath's small Commons majority.

"Francis Pym was one of the greatest chief whips of all time," said Lord Jopling, a former chief whip himself. "He was a wonderful politician. His feat in getting the European Communities Bill through the Commons in the early 1970s was the greatest whipping feat of all time. The arithmetic was not there, but he did it. It was a remarkable feat."

Lord Parkinson, a former Tory Party chairman, said: "He made two huge contributions. The first was to get the Europe Bill through the Commons with a very narrow majority at his disposal. All the parties were split on this issue.

"The second was as Foreign Secretary during the Falklands conflict, to which post he was appointed after Lord Carrington’s resignation. The House trusted him and he played an important role in getting the Commons united behind the troops. He was a thoroughly nice man."

Baroness Thatcher was not immediately available for comment.

Lord Pym was the son of an MP and a descendant of the 17th century politician John Pym, leader of the Long Parliament.

He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. During the Second World War he served with the 9th Lancers in North Africa and Italy, when he was awarded the Military Cross and twice mentioned in dispatches.

He entered the Commons in 1961 as an MP for Cambridgeshire.

Lord Pym’s family said in a statement: "Lady Pym and her family are extremely sad to announce the death of her beloved husband Lord Pym after a prolonged illness.

"Francis died at home on March 7 just after midnight."

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