Sara Keays
Sara Keays (pronounced "Keys", born 1 June 1947) was the personal secretary of British Conservative politician Cecil Parkinson. The two became lovers, and Keays' public revelation of her pregnancy and of their twelve-year-long affair led to his resignation as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the government of Margaret Thatcher. Parkinson's resignation Parkinson was forced to resign on 14 October 1983 after it was revealed that Keays was bearing his child, Flora Keays. Subsequently, as a result of a dispute over child maintenance payments, Parkinson (with Keays' initial consent) was able to gain an injunction in 1993, forbidding the British media from making any reference to their daughter. At the time of the revelation of his relationship with Sara Keays in 1983, Parkinson made much of what he described as the volume of supportive letters which he had received. By 2001, however, the media focused more upon Flora and her difficulties than in protecting Parkinson's reputation, so more voices were raised in criticism of Parkinson. Keays published her own book about the controversy, A Question of Judgement, in 1985. Daughter Flora Keays (born 31 December 1983, in Merton, Greater London) has learning disabilities and Asperger syndrome, and had