Robert Temple Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster, (30 March 1927 – 3 April 2020) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

Family

Armstrong was born in Headington on 30 March 1927, the only son of the musician Sir Thomas H. W. Armstrong and his wife Hester M. Draper, who were married in the City of London in 1926. His sister Helen was born in Exeter in 1930. Armstrong was educated at the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

and then at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, where he was a King's Scholar, following which he went up to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

, where he read Greats. In Wantage, on 25 July 1953, Armstrong married Serena Mary Benedicta Chance, daughter of Sir Roger James Ferguson Chance, and Mary Georgina Rowney. Armstrong and his wife had two daughters, both born in Marylebone, Jane Orlanda Armstrong, born 1954, and Teresa Brigid Armstrong, born 1957. This marriage ended in divorce, and in 1985 he married Mary Patricia Carlow, daughter of Charles Cyril Carlow.

Career

In a long civil service career, Armstrong worked in several departments, including

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government ...

and the Home Office. From 1970 to 1975 he served as the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Ministers

Ted 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

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

. He was knighted in 1978. From 1979 to 1987, he served as Cabinet Secretary under

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 ...

. Armstrong was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

(CB) in 1974, a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO) in the 1975 Birthday Honours. In the 1978 Birthday Honours he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and to Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in the 1983 New Year Honours.

''Spycatcher'' trial

In 1986, Armstrong was the key witness for the British Government as it sought to suppress the publication of ''

Spycatcher ''Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer'' (1987) is a memoir written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. He drew on his own experiences and research in ...

'', in which it alleged its author, Peter Wright, had attempted to disclose confidential information. At the time Wright was a retired high-ranking member of MI5 and was about to publish his book in Australia. The evidence given by Armstrong was widely ridiculed by the British press for its absurd ambiguity and seemingly deceptive nature. Wright's lawyer,

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

, who later became the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princip ...

, was ultimately successful in lifting the publication ban. Turnbull described Armstrong as being like " Sir Humphrey Appleby" from '' Yes, Minister'' and said "If he is an honest man, then he appears rather like a well-educated mushroom". He is credited with bringing the phrase " economical with the truth" into popular usage, after he used it during the ''

'' trial in 1986; his use of the phrase was subsequently included in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

Later life

He was created a life peer as Baron Armstrong of Ilminster, ''of Ashill in the

County of Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

'', on 26 February 1988, and sat as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

. From 1994 to 2006, Lord Armstrong was Chancellor of the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

. He was chairman of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation until 2013.

Allegations of child abuse 'coverup'

Armstrong was aware of Sir Peter Hayman's paedophilia, and after leaving office, commented "Clearly, I was aware of it at the time but I was not concerned with the personal aspect of it." Armstrong gave

what he called a "veiled" warning not to sanction

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and '' Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well kno ...

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

for charitable work, due to allegations around his " misbehaviour with women (though not allegations of child abuse)".

In popular culture

Armstrong has been portrayed by the following actors in film and television productions: *

Rupert Vansittart Rupert Nicholas Vansittart (born 10 February 1958) is an English character actor. He has appeared in a variety of roles in film, television, stage and radio, often playing comic characters. He is best known for his role as Lord Ashfordly in the ...

in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's controversial '' The Falklands Play''. *

Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carte ...

in the 2004 BBC production of '' The Alan Clark Diaries''.

Death

Armstrong died on 3 April 2020 at the age of 93.

Bibliography

* (1997). ''The Future of the National Art Library: A Pamphlet Concerning the Victoria and Albert Museum's Responsibility Towards the Documentation of the History of Art and Design''

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Robert 1927 births 2020 deaths Armstrong of Ilminster, Robert Armstrong, Baron Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Home Department Civil servants in HM Treasury Cabinet Secretaries (United Kingdom) Private secretaries in the British Civil Service People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order People associated with the University of Hull Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister