Robert Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green
(14 May 1942 – 17 January 2014) was a British businessman, politician and author who was an advisor to Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
.
[
McAlpine was descended from the ]McAlpine baronets
The McAlpine Baronetcy, of Knott Park in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for Robert McAlpine, a Scottish civil engineer and the founder of '' Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd''.
McAlpine b ...
who made their fortune in the construction industry. McAlpine held a variety of jobs before becoming prominent in British politics in the 1980s as the treasurer and a major fundraiser of the Conservative Party. A close ally of Thatcher, McAlpine did not support her successor as Prime Minister John Major, and later joined James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family.
His cont ...
's Referendum Party
The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership of the European Union ...
. McAlpine later rejoined the Conservatives but resigned his seat in the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
.
Outside politics McAlpine was prominent in a variety of business developments in Australia as well as being an art collector and memoirist.
Early life and business career
McAlpine was born at The Dorchester
The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...
in Mayfair, London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. His great-grandfather was "Concrete Bob", Robert McAlpine,[ the first of the ]McAlpine baronets
The McAlpine Baronetcy, of Knott Park in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for Robert McAlpine, a Scottish civil engineer and the founder of '' Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd''.
McAlpine b ...
and the founder of the McAlpine construction firm. He was the second son of Ella Mary Gardner (Garnett) and Edwin McAlpine, the fifth Baronet, and the brother of William McAlpine, the sixth Baronet. He described his childhood as "idyllic" but not luxurious.[ He went to boarding school at the age of six.][ He had dyslexia and left Stowe School at 16 with three ]O-levels
The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
. He then worked on a McAlpine building site on the South Bank, keeping time and dealing with wage packets.[
At the age of 21, McAlpine became a director of the company, at the time named ]Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons
Sir Robert McAlpine Limited is a family-owned building and civil engineering company based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It carries out engineering and construction in the infrastructure, heritage, commercial, arena and stadium, healthcare, educa ...
.[ He made money in property development in Australia and worked in the building business until he entered politics.][
McAlpine founded his own publishing house in London in the 1960s, and was an art dealer, art collector, zookeeper (in Broome, Western Australia), horticulturist, ]beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees.
Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...
, agriculturist, gardener and passionate traveller.
Politics
Though the inner circle of the Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson had once considered appointing McAlpine as a fundraiser, McAlpine was entranced by the new Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
leader Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
at a 1975 dinner party, and she soon appointed him Conservative treasurer, a position he would retain until 1990.[ They continued to have a close working relationship throughout her time as prime minister][ and he led the fundraising efforts for the Conservative's general election campaigns.][ He would later describe his relationship with Thatcher in his book ''The Servant''.][ Using Machiavelli's '']The Prince
''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
'' for his analogy, the "Servant" (himself) is an important part of the success of the "Prince" (Thatcher).[ McAlpine's obituary in '']The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' described him as "...probably the most successful fundraiser the party ever had; yet by nature a dilettante, he did not become a significant political figure" and "...never really "into" politics. At heart he was an 18th-century amateur..."[
McAlpine's personal political views were varied and included ]Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...
, support for electric cars
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quiet ...
and the decriminalisation of all drugs.[
McAlpine was nominated to the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1980, despite protests at a perceived lack of experience in the field and his opposition to public subsidisation of the arts.] He served on the Council from 1981 to 1982. Other public bodies on which McAlpine served included the Theatre Investment Fund, of which he was chairman.[ He was also a trustee of the ]Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
and a director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
.[
McAlpine was created a life peer in the ]1984 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...
, taking the title Baron McAlpine of West Green, of West Green in the County of Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
.
As party treasurer, McAlpine raised large sums to support the Conservative Party in elections.[ Often this was done over lunches with business leaders, by pointing out the problems with Labour candidates.][ Money would never be discussed directly at the lunches, McAlpine would later say that "I used to lurk...I lurked all over London where rich people went."][ The Conservative party had raised £1.5 million the year before McAlpine became treasurer, the figures had increased to £4 million by the 1979 general election, and more than £9 million by the time of Thatcher's departure in 1990.][ McAlpine also channelled funds through ]offshore accounts
An offshore bank is a bank regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and ...
, and received funds from US and Hong Kong nationals.[ One of the funders of the era was Asil Nadir of Northern Cyprus, who was in 2012 convicted of stealing money from the ]Polly Peck
Polly Peck International (PPI) was a small British textile company which expanded rapidly in the 1980s and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index before collapsing in 1991 with debts of £1.3bn, eventually leading to the flight of its CEO, ...
company.[ McAlpine said the Conservative party had a "moral duty" to return Nadir's donations, totaling £400,000, to the creditors of Polly Peck.][ Other foreign businessmen courted by McAlpine included Li Ka-shing and Mohamed Al-Fayed.][ McAlpine also claimed that he worked to help Major raise a large sum from Greek businessman ]Yiannis Latsis
Yiannis Latsis (1910–2003), also known as John Spyridon Latsis, was a Greek shipping multi-billionaire tycoon notable for his great wealth, influential friends, and charitable activities.
The year of his death (2003), ''Forbes'' magazine rank ...
, though Major denied it.[
McAlpine was allegedly on a target list of the ]Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
(IRA).[ He was on Thatcher's team when the IRA bombed the ]Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
in Brighton in 1984, but was not injured.[ In 1990 the IRA bombed][ ]West Green House
West Green House is an 18th-century country house and garden at West Green in Hartley Wintney in the English county of Hampshire. The house is listed Grade II*. It is known for its gardens and for its summer season of opera.
History
The house ...
, a mansion in Hartley Wintney
Hartley Wintney is a large village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It lies about northwest of Fleet and east of Basingstoke. The parish includes the smaller contiguous village of Phoenix Green as well as the ham ...
,[ where he had lived just weeks before, and where in the past Thatcher had been a guest.][ In the mid-1980s, for reasons of safety and tax, McAlpine decided to move to ]Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
and Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
. Before his departure he had sold many of his possessions at Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
.[
McAlpine was deputy chairman of the party from 1979 to 1983.][ After Thatcher left in 1990, he remained fiercely supportive of her, and dismissive of her successor John Major, particularly his policies on the ]European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
. McAlpine joined James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family.
His cont ...
's Referendum Party
The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership of the European Union ...
six months before the 1997 general election, chairing its October 1996 party conference.[ He was expelled from the Conservatives in the House of Lords soon thereafter. In 1997 he became the Referendum Party's leader following Goldsmith's death, although the party would soon become defunct. He was very critical of the Conservative Party under ]William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
[ and sat as an ]Independent Conservative
Independent Conservative is a description which has been used in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States and elsewhere, to denote a political conservative who lacks a formal affiliation to the party of that name.
In the United Kingdom
As a de ...
for some time in the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
before rejoining the Conservatives.
In 1997 McAlpine was briefly involved in the movement by some British conservatives to help Chechnya, especially by trying to support its oil industry.[ Alongside former ]Chechen mafia
The Chechen Mafia ( ce, Нохчийн мафи, ''Noxçiyn mafi''; rus, Чеченская мафия, Chechenskaya mafiya) is one of the largest ethnic organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafi ...
boss and Chechen First Deputy Premier Khozh-Ahmed Noukhaev
Khozh-Ahmed Noukhayev (russian: Хож-Ахмет Нухаев; born November 11, 1954) also known as ''Khozha'' was a Chechen gangster and boss of the Chechen mafia known as Obshina in Moscow and a prominent figure in Chechen politics. His whe ...
he created the private holding company Caucasian Common Market
The Caucasian Common Market (founded in 1997) was a private holding company created to bring prosperity and well-being to the North Caucasus, and in addition, its recognition by the world community as an important subject of international commodit ...
.
In order to maintain his non-domiciled status and so be able to avoid paying UK residents' taxes, McAlpine stepped down from his seat in the House of Lords in 2010 because of a constitutional amendment to the British tax code.
McAlpine liked the Conservative Party chairman
The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office.
When the Conservatives are in government, the offic ...
Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Edward Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, (1 September 1931 – 22 January 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician and cabinet minister. A chartered accountant by training, he entered Parliament in November 1970, and was appointed a ...
, and disliked Parkinson's successor, John Gummer
John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, (born 26 November 1939) is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal and now a member of the House of Lords. He was Conservative Party Chairman from 1983 ...
, whom he thought dull.[ Owing to his influence over Thatcher, McAlpine was said to have ensured Gummer's replacement as party chairman by Norman Tebbit.][
]
Australia
McAlpine first went to Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
around 1960, after hearing that the government was to privatise road-building.[ In the mid-1960s he went to ]Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
to work, developing office blocks[ and the first ]five-star hotel
Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experie ...
in the city.[
In the 1980s McAlpine attempted to invigorate the tourism business in Broome. McAlpine had first been impressed with Broome in the late 1970s.][ He felt the area had great tourism potential. He invested $500 million on various developments, such as restoring crumbling buildings,][ fixing up a cinema, and creating the Cable Beach Resort club][ and the Pearl Coast Zoological Gardens.][ He bought a stake in a ]pearl farm
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
, and helped promote the South Sea Pearl.[ He promoted local culture including Aboriginal artwork. He spent several months a year there, for a time.][
McAlpine gave to charities as well as startup businesses.][ The changes were not without controversy,][ explored for example in the 1990 documentary film ''Lord of the Bush'' by Tom Zubrycki.][ Economic conditions worsened in the early 1990s, and tourism was affected by the ]1989 Australian pilots' dispute
The 1989 Australian pilots' dispute was one of the most expensive and dramatic industrial disputes in Australia's history. It was co-ordinated by the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) after a prolonged period of wage suppression, to supp ...
.[ McAlpine had to sell his stakes and leave in the mid-1990s.][ The zoo closed, but many of his efforts lasted, such as the Cable Beach club. When he revisited Broome in 2012 he was described positively in several media stories and the town leaders honoured him as Freeman of the Municipality.][
]
Art and collecting
McAlpine had been a passionate collector of a wide range of objets d'art
In art history, the French term Objet d’art describes an ornamental work of art, and the term Objets d’art describes a range of works of art, usually small and three-dimensional, made of high-quality materials, and a finely-rendered finish th ...
and ephemera since his youth. He had a " cupboard of curiosities" as a child, including a snake in a bottle, and a piece of a Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
air ship
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
In early ...
.[ Later objects collected by McAlpine included beads, books, furniture, police truncheons, dolls, textiles, ties, sculpture, rare breeds of chicken, Renaissance tapestries, a five-legged lamb in formaldehyde, and a dinosaur penis.][ He was an early collector of the American painter ]Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...
.[ He was very interested in Abstract expressionism and artists such as ]Morris Louis
Morris Louis Bernstein (November 28, 1912 – September 7, 1962), known professionally as Morris Louis, was an American painter. During the 1950s he became one of the earliest exponents of Color Field painting. While living in Washington, D. ...
and Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...
.[ He also collected the work of Australian painter Sidney Nolan.][ He made collections of ]folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
from various continents.[ He was also interested in modern sculpturists such as William Turnbull, ]Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo, born Naum Neemia Pevsner (23 August 1977) (Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר), was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's post-Revolution avant-garde and the subsequent development of twentieth-century scul ...
, Michael Bolus and David Annesley
David Annesley (born 1936) is a British sculptor who rose to prominence in the 1960s.
Life and work
David Annesley was born in 1936 in London and educated in Zimbabwe, Australia and England. After undertaking national service as an RAF pilot b ...
.[ He owned a gallery on ]Cork Street
Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries, and was previously associated with the tailoring industry. It is part of the Burlington Estate, which was developed from the 18th centu ...
as well.[ He once owned a warehouse to store his collections, but also he periodically sold or donated portions of them to museums.][
In 1970 McAlpine donated 60 sculptures to the ]Tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
, including works by Turnbull, Annesley, and Bolus, as well as Phillip King, Tim Scott
Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Go ...
, William Tucker, and Isaac Witkin
Isaac Witkin (10 May 1936 – 23 April 2006) was an internationally renowned modern sculptor born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Witkin entered Saint Martin's School of Art in London in 1957 and studied under Sir Anthony Caro and alongside artis ...
. McAlpine also donated hundreds of erotic pictures to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, including works by Bob Carlos Clarke
Robert Carlos Clarke (24 June 1950 – 25 March 2006) was a British-Irish photographer who made erotic images of women as well as documentary, portrait and commercial photography.
Carlos Clarke produced six books during his career: ''The ...
, Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer.
He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...
, David Bailey, Terence Donovan, and others. Bloomsbury Book Auctions sold many of these items in 2003. The auction was entitled "A (Very) Private Collection: Fashion and Eroticism Photographs 1970–1990".[
In the 1970s McAlpine and the classical architect Quinlan Terry constructed various ]follies
''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...
in the grounds of West Green House
West Green House is an 18th-century country house and garden at West Green in Hartley Wintney in the English county of Hampshire. The house is listed Grade II*. It is known for its gardens and for its summer season of opera.
History
The house ...
. One of these, a 50 feet high column topped by an elaborately carved design, bears a Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
inscription declaring that "this monument was built with a great deal of money which otherwise someday would have been given into the hands of the public revenue".[Headley and Meulenkamp 1986, p. 79.] McAlpine also constructed a classical triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...
topped with an obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
that bears a plaque dedicating the arch to the "first lady Prime Minister of Great Britain". Other features in the folly garden include a ''trompe-l'œil
''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
'' nymphaeum, a smoke house
A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more. , an " eye catcher", Chinese cow sheds and an island gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands.
Etymology
The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...
.
Personal life
McAlpine lived in several parts of the world including England,[ Western Australia,][ Paris, Venice][ and Southern Italy.][
In 1987 he had ]heart bypass
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest pai ...
surgery, which led him to relax his lifestyle and stop smoking.[ In 1999 he had further heart bypass surgery, which led to complications resulting in his having a ]tracheotomy
Tracheotomy (, ), or tracheostomy, is a surgical airway management procedure which consists of making an incision (cut) on the anterior aspect (front) of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea (windpipe). The r ...
and, as a result of that, difficulty in speaking.[ He was in a coma for a month on a life-support machine following his second heart operation,][ after which he experienced a ]deathbed conversion
A deathbed conversion is the adoption of a particular religious faith shortly before dying. Making a conversion on one's deathbed may reflect an immediate change of belief, a desire to formalize longer-term beliefs, or a desire to complete a ...
to Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, emerged declaring that he felt "more casual about life".[
]
Marriages
McAlpine was married three times. He married for the first time in 1964, to Sarah Baron.[ They had two daughters together and divorced shortly after McAlpine became the Conservative Party treasurer.][ His two daughters did not speak to him for many years following the divorce.
McAlpine married his second wife, Romilly Hobbs, in 1980.][ She had been his political secretary and was a "glamorous and popular hostess" during Thatcher's premiership. McAlpine and Hobbs had a daughter, and divorced shortly after McAlpine's second heart operation, owing to his adultery.][ McAlpine said of his relationships that "I keep changing my life, houses and relationships. I reinvent myself every few years. My first marriage lasted 15 years and this one ]o Romilly
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
20. It's hardly into bed and out the other side. There was a great deal of love. But there comes a point when life is just a habit, and I'm rather against habits. I just didn't want to carry on."[
In early 2002 McAlpine married his third wife, Athena Malpas.][ She was born in ]Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
of a Greek shipping
Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and has been a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times. Today, shipping is the country's most important industry wo ...
family. The couple met when she was working for the youth wing of the Referendum Party, and married in Paris, with his reconciled daughters present. She was 32 and he 59. They moved to Southern Italy, renovated an old convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
, and opened a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
.[ Convento di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is near the village of ]Diso
Diso ( Salentino: ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is l ...
, in the vicinity of the coastal city of Lecce.
Defamatory allegations of child abuse
In November 2012, McAlpine was falsely implicated in the North Wales child abuse scandal
The North Wales child abuse scandal was the subject of a three-year, £13 million investigation into the physical and sexual abuse of children in care homes in the counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd, in North Wales, including the Bryn Estyn childre ...
, after the BBC ''Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' programme accused an unnamed "senior Conservative" of abuse. McAlpine was widely rumoured on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and other social media platforms to be the person in question. After ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported that the accusations were the result of mistaken identity
Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defenda ...
, McAlpine issued a strong denial that he was in any way involved. The accuser, a former care home resident, unreservedly apologised after seeing a photograph of McAlpine and realising that he had been mistaken, leading to a report in ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' that the BBC was "in chaos". The BBC also then apologised.
The decision to broadcast the ''Newsnight'' report without contacting McAlpine first led to further criticism of the BBC, and to the resignation of its Director-General, George Entwistle
George Edward Entwistle (born 8 July 1962) was Director-General of the BBC during 2012, succeeding Mark Thompson. After a career in magazine journalism, he joined BBC Television in 1989, becoming a producer with a primary focus in factual and ...
. The BBC subsequently paid McAlpine £185,000 in damages plus costs, which he donated to charity. He also won £125,000 in damages plus costs from ITV following a November 2012 edition of '' This Morning'' which linked Conservative politicians to allegations of child sex abuse, again donating the damages to charity.
McAlpine expressed his intention to pursue twenty "high profile" Twitter users who had reported or alluded to the rumours. He decided to drop the defamation claims against those with fewer than 500 followers in return for a £25 donation to the Children in Need charity. One high-profile case was settled out of court: in March 2013, McAlpine's representatives reached an agreement with writer George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books.
Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...
, who had tweeted on the case and had at that time more than 55,000 followers on Twitter, for the latter to carry out work on behalf of three charities of his choice whose value amounts to £25,000 as compensation. Monbiot described this settlement as "unprecedented" and "eminently decent", reflecting well on McAlpine.
Another case went to court: McAlpine v Bercow
''McAlpine v Bercow'' was a landmark libel case in 2013 between Conservative peer Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, Lord McAlpine and Sally Bercow, the wife of John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speake ...
. Sally Bercow
Sally Kate Bercow (''née'' Illman; born 22 November 1969) is a British public personality and the wife of the former Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.
Early life
Bercow attended the independent co-educational King Edward's School ...
, the defendant, is the wife of John Bercow
John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who was Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior t ...
, the then Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings.
Systems that have such a position include:
* Speaker of ...
, a high profile, politically neutral role. On 24 May 2013, the High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...
ruled that her tweet, "Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*", was libellous. The two parties agreed on a settlement, and McAlpine donated the damages awarded to the charity Children in Need.
Death
McAlpine died on 17 January 2014 at his home in Italy, aged 71.[
]
Arms
Writing
McAlpine wrote (sometimes in collaboration) a number of books and contributed to periodicals, including ''The World of Interiors
''The World of Interiors'' is a magazine published by Condé Nast with a total readership of 152,000. The glossy monthly magazine covers interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to ac ...
''.[ A partial bibliography follows.
*''The Servant''. London: Faber & Faber, 1992. .][ This work discusses his relationship with Thatcher.][ He later re-released it as part of a compilation called ''The Ruthless Leader'', which also included '']The Art of War
''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...
'' by Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of '' The ...
and ''The Prince
''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
'' by Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...
, along with an introduction.[
*''Letters to a Young Politician – From his uncle''. London: Faber & Faber, 1995. .][
*''Once a Jolly Bagman: Memoirs''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997. .][
Contains numerous critical comments about former associates such as John Major, ]Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
, and Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...
.[
*''The New Machiavelli: The art of politics in business''. New York; Chichester: John Wiley, 1998. .][
*''Collecting and Display'', with Cathy Giangrande. London: Conran Octopus, 1998. .][
*''The Collector's Companion: A source book of public collections in Europe and the USA'', with Cathy Giangrande. London: Everyman, 2001. .][
*''Bagman to Swagman''. London: Allen & Unwin, 1999. .][
*''Adventures of a Collector''. London: Allen & Unwin, 2002. .][
*''Triumph from Failure: Lessons from Life for Business Success'', with Kate Dixey. New York: Texere, 2003. .][
]
References
*Headley, Gwyn and Meulenkamp, Wim. (1986) ''Follies: A National Trust Guide'' Jonathan Cape
External links
*
BBC interview with McAlpine, November 2012
McAlpine's bequest to the Tate Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAlpine, Alistair
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Alistair is a masculine given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic '' Alasdair''. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman French Alexandre or Latin Alexander, which was incorporated into English in the s ...
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McAlpine