Sir Anthony Kershaw, who died on 29 April, 2008, aged 92, was a Conservative MP of 22 years who was noted for his debating skills and independence of mind.

He served in the governments of Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher and would have been cabinet material had he not differed in opinion with Thatcher on several issues.

Nevertheless, he commanded a great deal of respect on the backbenches with a shrewd style of argument and wry sense of humour. He stayed loyal to the party’s economic policies and helped sway many of the ‘wets’, something Thatcher may not have noticeably appreciated but certainly benefited from.

John Anthony Kershaw was born on 14 December, 1915, in Cairo. He was the second son of Judge JF Kershaw of the Cairo Court of Appeal. He was educated back in England, attending Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, studying the law.

His call to the bar in 1939 coincided with the start of the Second World War. He served with the Thames River Police before being commissioned in May 1940 into the 16th/5th Lancers with whom he returned to North Africa. In Tunisia he earned the Military Cross for fearlessly braving machine-gun fire to transport orders after a radio failure. He later landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day.

After the war he instructed at Staff College Camberley and then became an officer in the TA while simultaneously reviving his legal career at London County Council. This led to him becoming an MP in 1955, successfully contesting the newly established seat of Stroud in Gloucestershire.

The following year he was appointed private secretary to Antony Head, Secretary of State for War. In the early 1960s he worked in Ted Heath’s office as he served as Secretary of State for Industry. He would work closely with Heath following his ascension to the party leadership and following the 1970 election victory, he worked as an under under-secretary in several prominent departments.

When Thatcher became party leader in 1974, Mr Kershaw tried to transfer his loyalty to Heath to the new boss. He was enthusiastic but also strong in his beliefs and his involvement in a campaign to reform the electoral system probably saw him unfairly labelled a trouble-maker. In government, as Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, he wielded a great deal of influence and reports he published were critical (though nowhere near damning) of the handling of matters such as the Falklands War, the Canada Bill and South Africa.

In the House he was witty and deft, arguing in favour of abortion and Europe against general party consensus. Yet he also scored points for Thatcher, slyly mocking Neil Kinnock by bringing up the issue of foreign trips for MPs shortly after a disastrous trip to Washington by the Labour leader.

In 1984 he sued the Department of the Environment after being seriously injured by a fall through an open drain in London’s Green Park. "My constituents advised me to take it up with my MP," he joked with typical self-deprecation, "but I told them he’s a useless old beggar."

He retired from the House in 1987 and served in various titled roles in local government in Gloucestershire until 1993. He was married to Barbara Crookenden and they had two daughters and two sons.