British Defense Minister Quits, Assails Thatcher

LONDON — In a move that rocked Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government and stunned even the most seasoned political observers, Michael Heseltine resigned Thursday as Britain’s defense secretary.

Heseltine stormed out of a Cabinet meeting, announced that he had resigned, then launched a bitter personal attack on Thatcher and her style of leadership.

His walkout followed a reportedly tense exchange with Thatcher over whether a financially ailing firm that builds helicopters should be bailed out by a group of European companies or by a group headed by an American company. It was widely known that Heseltine had disagreed with other Cabinet members in favoring the European consortium. The debate had gone on for weeks, but it was thought to have been settled.

A few hours after announcing his resignation, Heseltine, 52, called a news conference and read a long statement chronicling events and attacking Thatcher and members of her Cabinet.

He accused the prime minister of deception and of conducting crucial meetings in an arrogant, ill-tempered fashion. He charged Leon Brittan, the secretary for trade and industry, with using crude strong-arm tactics to support Thatcher’s position.

He implied that Thatcher forced his resignation by ordering him to be quiet on a defense issue that he regarded as important.

“If the basis of trust between the prime minister and her defense secretary no longer exists,” he said, “there is no place for me with honor in such a Cabinet.”

Within an hour of his departure, Thatcher appointed George Younger, 54, the Cabinet secretary for Scotland, to succeed Heseltine in the defense post. She made no immediate public statement on the incident, although her office made public a letter to Heseltine in which she expressed regret that he had resigned.

Norman Tebbit, chairman of Thatcher’s Conservative Party, described Heseltine as an emotional man who had become obsessed with the issue.

Sensational Manner

In a country where high-level political differences are customarily masked by a facade of well-mannered protocol, the way Heseltine resigned was considered to be as sensational as the resignation itself.

It was the most dramatic domestic political development in the 5 1/2 years Thatcher has been prime minister. Television newscasters described in detail the way Heseltine, in mid-discussion, suddenly gathered up his papers, rose and left the room, saying to his surprised colleagues, “I will have to leave this Cabinet.”

The political ramifications of the incident are regarded as considerable. For Thatcher, Heseltine’s departure is a personal setback and a political threat. His flamboyant style will be missed in a Cabinet of bland individuals.

Heseltine is rich, good-looking and charged with political ambition. In discussions of possible successors to Thatcher as Conservative Party leader and prime minister, his name has invariably cropped up.

Can Rouse the Faithful

He has been described as something of a loner, with no easily identifiable constituency, but he has demonstrated an ability to rouse the party faithful, on the campaign trail as well as at party conferences.

Because Thatcher’s combative style has become a matter of controversy within the party, Heseltine could now become a rallying point for disenchanted Conservatives in Parliament.

Thatcher’s political opponents sought immediately to take advantage of the situation. Labor leader Neil Kinnock demanded that she appear in Parliament on Monday with a detailed statement on events surrounding the resignation. Social Democratic Party leader David Owen said that the resignation was made in protest against Thatcher’s style of leadership.

“The nub of this issue is the way the prime minister conducts the government,” Owen said. “Mr. Heseltine is challenging her autocratic methods, her unconstitutional handling of the Cabinet and her refusal to accept that we don’t have a presidential form of government.”

Brushes Aside Questions

At his press conference, Heseltine brushed aside questions about his political future. He said that such probing trivialized the issues surrounding his resignation.

He vowed to continue his efforts to ensure that part of the financially troubled British helicopter company, Westland PLC, be sold to a West European consortium and not be tied through a minority stake to the American producer, United Technologies, owner of the Sikorsky helicopter company, in alliance with Fiat of Italy.

Westland stockholders are scheduled to vote Tuesday on which of the rival offers to accept.

Heseltine’s backing of the European bid had placed him at odds with both Thatcher and Brittan in a Cabinet split unusual for its public nature. Thursday he accused her of “materially misleading” Westland’s management about the implications of a U.S. link-up, and of blocking discussion of the issue at Cabinet meetings.

Since becoming defense secretary three years ago, Heseltine has been a staunch backer of cooperative European defense ventures as the best way to compete against U.S. manufacturers.

At his press conference Thursday, he argued that such cooperative efforts are essential to preserve the Atlantic Alliance and to prevent a buildup of mutual resentment--by Americans who feel that Europeans do not do more for their own defense and by Europeans who fear U.S. domination of arms procurement.

Younger has been the Cabinet secretary for Scotland since Thatcher came to power in 1979. He served briefly in 1974 as a junior minister in the Defense Ministry.