Sir John Nott (Image: GETTY)
Sir John Nott left an estate valued at £2million to his family following his death last year at the age of 92.
The former Defence Secretary played a key role in Britain’s response to the Falklands War during the government.
He faced fierce criticism for failing to anticipate the Argentine invasion of the internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom on April 2, 1982, and was accused of leaving them vulnerable, as per .
Having already come under pressure over defence spending cuts the year before, he entreated the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to allow him to step down following the invasion.
But the request was rejected and Sir John went on to oversee the successful campaign to retake the islands, which were surrendered back to British control on June 14 of that year.
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Sir John served in Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet. (Image: Getty)
A further request to quit was accepted by the following year.
Sir John’s political career is closely associated with the Falklands conflict, and decades after stepping down he rejected criticism of the infamous decision by to sink the Argentine ship, the Belgrano, an attack which claimed the lives of 323 sailors.
Speaking to the in 2002, he said: “We didn’t start the war – there was a great army of people who tried to somehow blame the war on us. (But) we were negotiating peacefully with the Argentinians,” he said.
“It was a terrible tragedy. I was shocked when all those Argentinian soldiers died. It was terrible really,” Sir John added.
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John Nott in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, 26 October 1982. (Image: Getty)
reports that Sir John left an estate valued at £2,049,785 to his wife and three children, Julian, William and Sasha following his death on November 6 last year.
His political career lasted almost two decades, during which he also worked at the Treasury and trade department, and served as the MP for St Ives from 1966 to 1983, as per the .
Many still remember the former Cabinet Minister storming out of a TV interview with veteran broadcaster Sir Robin Day during the Tory party conference in 1982, after being branded a “here today, gone tomorrow” politician.
But in time Sir John saw the funny side, making the infamous phrase the title of his memoir.
He worked in banking before entering parliament and returned to the finance world after leaving Westminster.
After stepping away from frontline politics, he remained politically engaged and was appointed to head up a commission to oppose the UK adopting the Euro in 1999, as per the .
He wrote several books and ran his 200-acre farm in Cornwall in later life, reports.