Cecil Parkinson's daughter Flora in 'serious financial hardship'

Flora Keays, 34, has significant mental and physical problems, including autism. Her mother, Sara, 70, the politician’s former secretary, has devoted her life to her daughter’s care, welfare and education.

Flora’s illegitimate birth forced Parkinson to resign from Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet. Until his death in January 2016, he made provision for Flora of £20,000 a year. She did not benefit from his £1.14 million will, bit she is the nominated beneficiary of a £350,000 life insurance policy held in trust.

The trustees are a son-in-law of Parkinson and a former partner of Farrers, the law firm which acts for the executors and the trustees.

The court case was the result of the executors of the trust, a solicitor and one of the daughters from Parkinson’s marriage, attempting to remove Keays from acting as Flora’s “litigation friend”.

Judge Master Julia Clark told the court that in March 2016, Farrers paid £5000 to Keays but she has received no further money,

She said: “Ms Keays’ evidence is that this has placed her, and indirectly the claimant, Flora, in severe financial difficulties.”

Master Clark said this meant Keays was unable to pay her mortgage and fund other “essential and pressing” needs, including repairing the central heating boiler”.

The judge said that in March 2017, Keays issued a claim, seeking £12,000 to discharge mortgage arrears, and sums to buy a house and to invest so as to provide maintenance of £50,000 a year.

By the following month, Keays was facing possession proceedings but was able to pay the arrears with a fee from a newspaper interview. Further arrears accrued, said the judge, and had been discharged by the trustees on an ad hoc basis. Master Clark said: “Ms Keays’ evidence – which is uncontradicted – is that this has caused her embarrassment and difficulty with the mortgagee.”

She said that the executors – a solicitor and Parkinson’s daughter Emma – wanted to remove Ms Keays as Flora’s “litigation friend” on the grounds she could not fairly and competently conduct proceedings and had an interest adverse to her daughter’s. They claimed that her role was tainted by her “highly litigious” relationship with Parkinson and her “bizarre perception” that his family, the executors and their solicitors were involved in a conspiracy against her.

The judge said she was not satisfied that Keays, who did not oppose her replacement in principle, was not a suitable litigation friend. The evidence did not show that she was extravagant, likely to commit a contempt of court or that she had a highly litigious relationship with Parkinson at the time of his death.

Master Clark said: “Ms Keays’ unchallenged evidence is that she has not sought to recover anything from the deceased since the maintenance order in 1993, which the deceased volunteered to continue upon the claimant attaining her majority in 2002.

“As for the deceased’s family, Ms Keays’ unchallenged evidence is that she has had no dealings with them for 38 years. She does express in her evidence anger and frustration that the support provided by the deceased to the claimant – as set out above – has been abruptly removed, causing her and [Flora] serious financial hardship.”

There was no evidence Keays would spend money from Parkinson’s estate other than for Flora’s benefit, she added. The judge said Flora should be entitled to choose as litigation friend the solicitor she preferred and an order of appointment would be made.