The implied allegation made against me is one of the most serious kind for any holder of public office, that I have used that office and the confidential information available to me from it to enrich my family. I cannot explain the extraordinary circumstances referred to by the media which have given rise to these allegations, and I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to undertake a formal independent investigation into them.
'The nature of these allegations makes it impossible for me to prove my innocence of the charge of misconduct, but I am confident that the official investigation by the Cabinet Secretary will eventually establish the full facts of the matter and my complete exoneration’
He swallowed hard; his mouth was dry and increasingly he was struggling with some of the words.
'However, this investigation will inevitably take some time to complete, and in the meantime the spread of doubts and insinuations is doing real harm to the normal business of Government, and also to my Party. While the time and attention of the Government should be devoted to implementing the programme on which we were so recently re-elected, this is not proving possible in present circumstances.
The integrity of the office of Prime Minister has been brought into question, and it is my first duty to protect that office. Therefore, to re-establish and preserve that unquestioned integrity, I have today asked the permission of Her Majesty the Queen to relinquish the office of Prime Minister as soon as a successor can be chosen.'
There was a sharp intake of breath from somewhere around the table, but otherwise there was absolute silence throughout the room. Hearts had momentarily stopped beating.
Collingridge cleared his throat and continued.
‘I have devoted my entire adult life to the pursuit of my political ideals, and it goes against every bone in my body to leave office in this fashion. I am not running away from the allegations, but rather ensuring that they may be cleared up as quickly and expeditiously as possible, and striving to bring a little peace back to my family. I believe history will show that I have made the right judgement.'
Collingridge replaced the piece of paper in his folder. 'Gentlemen, thank you,' he said curtly, and in an instant strode out of the door and was gone.
Urquhart sat at the end of the Cabinet table transfixed. As the murmuring and gasps of surprise broke out around him he would not, could not, join in. He gazed for a long time at the Prime Minister's empty chair, exulting in his own immense power.
He had done this. Alone he had destroyed the most influential man in the country, wielding might beyond the dreams of the petty men who sat with him around that table. And he knew he was the only one of them who could truly justify filling that empty seat. The others were pygmies, ants.
He was seized by the same exhilarating perspective which had gripped him forty years earlier when as a raw military recruit he had prepared to make his first parachute jump 2,500 feet above the fields of Lincolnshire. All the instruction in the world could not have prepared him for the chilling excitement as he sat in the open hatchway of a twin engine Islander, his feet dangling in the fierce slipstream, gazing down at the green and yellow landscape far below.
He was attached to a parachute which in turn was fastened to a static line and this, so the instructors had assured him, would guarantee a safe landing. But this was no matter of mere logic. It was an act of faith, of trust in one's destiny, a willingness to accept the danger if that were the only way of finding the fulfilment which every real man sought. Despite the logic of the static line, sometimes even the most courageous of men froze in the open hatchway as his faith deserted him and his self-respect was ripped away in the slipstream. Yet Urquhart had felt omnipotent, God-like, viewing His Kingdom from on high, disdaining the logic and fears which beset the ordinary mortals around him.
As he gazed now at the empty chair, he knew there was no time for doubt. He must have faith in himself and his destiny. He had launched himself and was rushing through the air until he reached that point on the very edge of discovery where he would find what Destiny had decided for him. He gave an inner smile of anticipation, while contriving outwardly to look as shocked as those around him.
Still shivering from the excitement, Urquhart walked the few yards back to the Chief Whip's office in Downing Street. He locked himself in his private room and by 10.20 a.m. he had made two phone calls.
Shortly after 10.30, Roger O'Neill called a meeting of the entire press office at party headquarters.
I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to cancel all your lunch arrangements today. I've had the word that shortly after ‘I o'clock this afternoon we are to expect a very important statement from Downing Street. It's absolutely confidential, I cannot tell you what it is about, but we have to be ready to handle it. It's a real blockbuster.'
By 11 a.m., five journalists had been contacted by various press officers in party headquarters to apologise for not being able to make lunch. All of them were sworn to secrecy and told with various shades of detail and speculation that 'something big was going on in Downing Street'.
Charles Goodman of the Press Association, using the formidable range of contacts and favours he had built up over the years, quickly discovered that there had been a meeting of all Cabinet Ministers at Downing Street that morning, although the Number Ten press office had nothing to say on the matter. Too many official schedules for 10 a.m. had been hastily altered for anyone to be able to hide the fact. On a hunch he then phoned the Buckingham Palace press office, which also had nothing to say - at least officially. But the deputy press secretary there had worked with Goodman many years before on the Manchester Evening News, and confirmed entirely off the record and totally unattributably that Collingridge had asked for an audience at ‘1 p.m.’
By 11.25 a.m. the PA tape was carrying the story of the secret Cabinet meeting and the unscheduled audience expected soon to take place between the Prime Minister and the Queen, an entirely factual report.
By midday IRN local radio was running a sensationalised lead item on their news programmes.
The news at noon is that Henry Collingridge will soon be on his way for a secret meeting with Her Majesty the Queen. Speculation has exploded in Westminster during the last hour that either he is going to sack several of his leading Ministers and inform the Queen of a major Cabinet reshuffle, or he is going to admit his guilt to recent charges of insider trading with his brother. There are even rumours that she is going to sack him. Whatever the outcome, it seems certain that in just over an hour's time somebody in Government is going to be very unhappy.'
In fact it took less than a couple of minutes to infuriate
Henry Collingridge for, when the Prime Minister looked out of his front window, the other side of the street was obscured in a forest of television cameras around which was camped an army of reporters and press photographers.
He was purple with rage as he slammed the door of his office shut with a noise which echoed along the corridor. Two passing messengers witnessed his fury. ‘What was that he was muttering?' asked one.
'Didn't quite get it, Jim. Something about "oaths of office".
When Collingridge walked out through the front door and into his car at 12.45, he ignored the screams of the press corps from the other side of the road. He drove off into Whitehall, where he was pursued by a camera car which in its eagerness to chase him nearly crashed into the rear of the Prime Minister's police escort. There was another crowd of photographers outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. His attempt at a dignified resignation had turned into a three-ring circus.
As he watched these frenzied scenes on live television, Benjamin Landless, alerted more than two hours earlier by Urquhart, contented himself with a broad smile and a second bottle of champagne.
The Prime Minister had asked not to be disturbed unless it was absolutely necessary. After returning from the Palace, he had retired to the private apartment above Downing Street, wanting to be alone with his wife for a few hours. Somehow, those official papers no longer seemed so pressing.
The private secretary apologised. 'I'm terribly sorry, Prime Minister, but it's Dr Christian. He said it was important.'
The phone buzzed gently as the call was put through. ‘Dr Christian. How can I help you? And how is Charles?' It's about Charles I'm calling, Mr Collingridge. As we have discussed before, I have been keeping him very isolated and away from the newspapers so that he wasn't disturbed by all the allegations. But we have a problem. Normally we switch his television off and find something to divert him during news programmes, but we weren't expecting the unscheduled programme about your resignation - I'm deeply sorry you've had to resign, by the way, but it's about Charles I am most worried. I have to put his interests first, you understand.'
‘I do understand, Dr Christian, and you have your priorities absolutely right.'
‘He heard of the allegations about you and himself for the very first time, and how they had helped bring about your resignation. He is deeply upset and disturbed, Mr Collingridge; it's come as a great shock. He believes he is to blame for all that's happened, and I'm afraid is talking about doing harm to himself. I thought we were just on the verge of making real progress in his case, and now I fear this will not only set him right back but in his present delicate emotional state could bring about a real crisis for him. I don't wish to alarm you unduly, but he needs your help. Very badly.'
Sarah saw the look of anguish on her husband's face, and came over to sit beside him and hold his hand. It was trembling.
'Doctor, what can I do? I’ll do anything, anything you want.'
'We need to find some way of reassuring him. He's desperately confused.'
There was a pause as Collingridge bit deep into his lip, hoping it would distract from the pain burning inside.
'May I talk to him, doctor?'
There was a wait of several minutes as Charles was brought to the telephone.
'Charlie, how are you old boy?' he said softly.
Henry, what have I done to you? I've ruined you, destroyed you!' The voice sounded old, touched by hysteria.
'Charlie, Charlie. You've done nothing. It's not you who has hurt me, you have nothing to feel guilty about’
'But I've seen it on the television. You going off to the Queen to resign. They said it was because of me and some shares. I don't understand it, Henry, I've screwed it all up. Not only my life, but you and Sarah too. I don't deserve to be your brother. There's no point in anything any more’ There was a huge, gulping sob on the end of the phone.
'Charlie, I want you to listen to me very carefully. Are you listening? It's not you who should be asking for pardon, but me who should be down on my knees begging for forgiveness from you’