OBITUARY: Sir Peter Morrison

Peter Morrison was generous and loyal and was prepared to go to inordinate lengths to help his colleagues, writes Sir Archibald Hamilton [further to the obituary by Patrick Cosgrave, 15 July]. All his political career his organisational skills combined with an infectious enthusiasm for whatever he was doing made him an accomplished motivator of those who worked for him.

His knowledge of the route-maps of politics enabled him to finesse many difficult decisions while he was a minister. He never questioned or complained when he was moved from the Government in 1986 to become Deputy Chairman to Norman Tebbit at Conservative Central Office and he brought new enthusiasm to the party organisation in the run-up to the 1987 election. Shortly before his death he was raising thousands for his local Conservatives with an open day at his home in Somerset. Over recent years he devoted much of his attention to refurbishing his house at Bruton, where he was a host to people from all walks of life both inside and outside politics: when he left Parliament he developed an extraordinary successful business career, where his range of contacts was invaluable.

Peter Morrison was public-spirited in the best sense of the word and, with his unmistakable chuckle, he was always fun.