In his resignation statement in the House of Commons Heseltine accused Brittan of pressuring Sir Raymond Lygo, CEO of British Aerospace, to withdraw from the European Consortium. In response to questions in the House from Heseltine Brittan denied that he had received a letter from Lygo, but later had to admit that he had received a letter from Sir Austin Pearce, Chairman of British Aerospace; he had not disclosed it, he claimed, because it was marked "Private and Strictly Confidential". He was forced to return to the House a few hours later to apologise.