Good and Faithful Servant: The Unauthorized Biography of Bernard Ingham

Bernard Ingham was Margaret Thatcher's Press Secretary from 1979 to 1990. Blunt, tough and widely feared, he was once called the most powerful man in Britain. Robert Harris, "Sunday Times" columnist and a former lobby journalist, has written a detailed account of Ingham's career: his methods, his personality and his rise to power. Drawing on new evidence, he shows how Ingham, a passionate socialist in the 1960s, became one of the Prime Minister's most loyal lieutenants. He investigates the controversies Ingham has been at the heart of: the Falklands, Westland, the rows between the Queen and Mrs Thatcher, the denigration of ministers in off-the-record briefings. Above all, he reveals how Ingham amassed more power than any previous occupant of his office, making himself one of the most influential men in the Prime Minister's circle. "Good and Faithful Servant" is an insight into the way politics operate in Britain today.