Olympics in 1980 in response to the Soviet–Afghan War, and was elected eight times as vice-chair of the Tory backbenchers' defence committee. However, he opposed Thatcher's "Fortress Falklands" policy and sought reconciliation and negotiation with Argentina. In 1983 this led to his removal from the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 1988 he was in charge of a Parliamentary Designation to Iran. Townsend was pro-European, advocating Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. He criticised Thatcher for her Euroscepticism, which led to him supporting Michael Heseltine in the 1990 Tory leadership election. As a result, in January 1991 the executive of his constituency association proposed to make him stand for reselection, with Townsend's critics saying that he was a maverick who failed to consult his local party on key issues. The motion fell when put to the full association the next month. After retaining his seat at the 1992 general election with a majority of 14,086, he served on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. After the 1997 boundary changes he was not selected as a candidate for Bexleyheath and Crayford and left Parliament having been knighted in the 1997 New Year Honours. Outside Parliament Townsend was part of the Council for Arab-British Understanding. He served as joint chair during the 1980s, and became joint president in 1996. After retiring from Parliament he took this role full-time until stepping down in 2002. He served as an observer for the European Union at the 1996 Palestinian elections. In 2005 he became disillusioned with the Conservatives. In 2006, having joined the Liberal Democrats due to support for European integration, he supported Menzies Campbell's bid for the party leadership. Journalism Townsend was a respected journalist who wrote for several Middle Eastern newspapers (including Al-Hayat, for which he wrote a regular column), and was also a regular contributor to the Western Morning News. Personal life and death In his youth Townsend enjoyed tennis and skiing, and later he represented the House of Commons in these sports. He sang in the choir at Tavistock church. In 1976 Townsend married Anita Walshe, with whom he had two sons, Hugh and John. Townsend died at his home in Chillaton aged 75. He had been suffering from leukaemia. References External links Entry in The Townsend (Townshend) Family Records 1937 births 2013 deaths People educated at Bradfield College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English male journalists Liberal