The balance of power

Rifkind says he was frank with his publishers upfront. "I said, look, I did not have an affair with any former Prime Minister – of either sex," he guffaws.

Probably just as well. The Prime Minister during much of Rifkind’s time in the Cabinet, first as Scottish Secretary and then as Defence and finally Foreign Secretary, was Margaret Thatcher.

With many political observers still reeling from the Major/Currie revelations, even 15 years on, the thought of the Iron Lady in the act might be too much. But of course Rifkind is also a devoted family man and as his book reveals, ahead of his time.

Certainly Rifkind was too modern for one doctor who kicked him out of the delivery room when his wife was giving birth. It is just one of the stories in his memoirs, which trace his life from his childhood in a Jewish family in Edinburgh, through university, on to Westminster and the Cabinet. Along the way he was dubbed "Rambo Rifkind" as Thatcher's government proposed the poll tax and became one of only five people to serve throughout the 18 years of Conservative government. But there were setbacks too – including a few years outside parliament after he lost his Edinburgh Pentlands seat.

He returned triumphantly in 2005 as the MP for Kensington only to stand down ahead of the 2015 General Election after he was filmed undercover by Channel Four's Dispatches claiming to have “useful access” to every UK ambassador in the world.

Rifkind for his part denies that he wrote his memoirs to set the record straight on the Thatcher and Major governments. He says he had always planned to write his memoirs and at the age of 70 the "dim and distant future" had arrived.

In his book he draws a distinction between a “conviction" politician and a “pragmatist”. He firmly sees himself as in the latter camp. Indeed, Rifkind described Theresa May's decision to call a snap General Election for June as a "manageable risk, but it’s there”. He warned that despite the soaring opinion poll ratings the election might not all be plain sailing for the Tories. He said in particular that in some parts of England the pro-EU Liberal Democrats could “make a revival at the expense of some Conservatives.”

A pragmatic to the last then. In his memoir he also includes some short but interesting pen portraits of current leading Tory figures, including Boris Johnson and Theresa May.

He is cautious about the current Foreign Secretary, the former mayor of London turned arch Brexiteer and possessor of the biggest hair in politic. Boris has, he says, “marvellous qualities", but "they are not the skills and talents normally associated with being a Foreign Secretary".

He quotes Harold Macmillan, that Foreign Secretaries must be very careful in their speeches “they are either dull or dangerous”.

Is Boris dangerous?

“Well, he is certainly not dull!”

That might be an understatement after the Foreign Secretary was criticised this week for calling Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn a "mutton-headed, old mugwump".

Rifkind says Boris lands himself in trouble so often because he finds it irresistible to make some "usually quite humourous remark, which did not appreciate the sensitivities of the occasion”.

Earlier this year Boris was accused of bad taste by some European politicians after he described Brexit as a liberation. This week's remarks aside, Rifkind thinks he is improving.

“He is getting a lot better. He is not getting any better with his hairstyle but he is getting more statesmanlike. But of course the risk for Boris is that that might make him dull. So if he can get the balance right, which enables us to enjoy the humour without being unimpressed by wider significance, then he will be a successful Foreign Secretary."

It is a different story when it comes to the Prime Minister. Rifkind says he is "hugely impressed” with May. He believes that if she had not thrown her hat in the ring "we would not have had a grown up as Prime Minister”. Michael Gove on the other hand "was never Prime Ministerial character, which Gove himself recognised in the extraordinary few days before his downfall”, added Rifkind. As for the other contenders, Johnson had no ministerial experience, he points out, and Andrea Leadsom very little.

With May, because of her years as Home Secretary, from day one when she met Angela Merkel or Barack Obama “they treated her as equal”.

He also admires the fact that she can be “politically ruthless”. He admits he was “astonished” by the “summary dispatch” of George Osborne. Though he warns that such a course of action can be "potentially risky, (to) have a big beast out there ...”

If Brexit had not happened, his own assumption was that Osborne was “head and shoulders” the likely choice to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister.

As Prime Ministers go, Rifkind says during his time in Thatcher's Cabinet he got to know her close up and he contrasts her with modern-day politicians, both positively and negatively.

Thatcher was a "very, very controversial figure – and don’t I know it,” he laughs.

But he says that one of the "great” things about the Iron Lady was that she not “controlled” by short-term popularity. “The worst argument you could give to something she wanted to do was to say it would be unpopular," he says. "She would not only disagree with you, she would be contemptuous. Her view, and I’m not saying she always got it right, was that if what you were doing was the right thing then not only would the public ultimately acknowledge that but you would get the political outcome you deserve."

Again with understatement, Rifkind admits that Thatcher "did not really have a feel" for Scotland. He says he felt that Thatcher saw him as the Cabinet's man in Scotland, while he had to remind her that he was also Scotland's man in the Cabinet.

But he does feel that the interpretation of the fallout from the Thatcher years has been overdone.

The mantra has long been that the the Tories became "toxic" in Scotland, before current Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson kick-started a U-turn in the party's fortunes.

Rifkind was one of the victims of the disastrous 1997 election that saw the Tories wiped out in Scotland, losing the Pentlands seat he had held since 1974.

But Rifkind also describes as a "wonderful myth" that other oft-repeated mantra that the Tories used to get half of the vote in Scotland. Yes, that was technically true in 1955, but he calls that his party's "annus mirabilis" and a "freak result".

Rifkind says that at the time Scotland had effectively become a two-party system, in part because of the "collapse" of the Liberals and in part because the SNP had yet to emerge as a strong political force.

In the end he was only outside parliament for a few years before landing the plum London seat of Kensington (then called Kensington and Chelsea). Weeks later he entered the Tory leadership contest, although he admitted at the time that he had a "mountain to climb".

For five years while David Cameron was Prime Minister he was the chair of the powerful Intelligence and Security Committee. And it appeared that he would be returned to parliament in 2015 for another five-year term. Then, as he puts it, "the shit hit the fan".

I get the feeling he would like to use the shit word elsewhere in this story, but is much too polite.

In the early part of 2015, he had talks with what he thought was a Chinese company that wanted to set up an advisory council.

In reality, he was being filmed by journalists from The Daily Telegraph and Channel 4.

The programme alleged that both Rifkind and Labour's Jack Straw had offered their political connections to earn money from commercial companies. Both men strenuously denied the claims. But the accusations prompted a problem so close to the election.

The then chief whip Michael Gove called Rifkind in for a chat and indicated that the Prime Minister felt obliged to suspend him. Rifkind protested saying that he did not think such a step would be reasonable.

Previously former Tory Cabinet Minister Maria Miller had been allowed to continue in Cameron's government while facing expenses allegations.

Rifkind says in his memoir that during his chat with Gove it was agreed that he should see the Prime Minister. That never happened.

Rifkind says he was "not impressed" but insists that the matter is all now "ancient history".

On more recent matters, he agrees with May that "now is not the time" for another independence referendum. He believes May is "100 per cent right" on the issue which has led to accusations that the Conservative leader is denying democracy.

He says the evidence shows that Scots don't want another referendum and that to hold one could deter outside investment. But he is not keen for stricter rules around when another referendum should be called, fearing that would lead to a "permanent fixation" on the issue and Canadian-style "neverendum".

On the day we meet the world has woken up to the surprise news that overnight American President Donald Trump has bombed Syria, in response to chemical attacks carried out by the Assad regime. The move comes despite Trump's long-held view that America should stay out of foreign conflicts, including Syria.

As a former Defence and Foreign Secretary Rifkind does not hold back when it comes to the controversial tycoon turned politician, describing him as an "awful" choice for President. But intriguingly he predicts that the American action will have at least one very positive outcome – that there will be no more use of chemical weapons by Assad in this war.

He also has words of advice for the man who just a few years ago was the star of the American version of the reality TV show The Apprentice and who, by all accounts, appears to be struggling to find his feet in his first few months in the White House. He believes that if Trump really does want to make America great again (and he disputes the idea it has lost its greatness) then he need to show global leadership and create allies.

As we talk he fends off phone calls from newspapers and broadcasters wanting to get his view on the shock bombing. His understanding of defence and security issues mean that he is still very much in demand as a commentator.

And while the "dim and distant" future might have arrived there is no sign of him slowing down.

“I wrote this book because it is my memoir, it is not my view on current affairs,” he says of Power & Pragmatism. He adds, however, with a twinkle in his eye: “I can definitely write another book if anybody wants me to.”

Power & Pragmatism, The Memoirs Of Malcolm Rifkind, is published by Biteback, £20. Rifkind will be talking about the book at the Boswell Book Festival on Saturday, May 13 at 6.30pm (Tickets: £8). On Sunday, May 14, at 12 noon he will be discussing current events with Magnus Linklater and Philippe Sands. The Sunday Herald is the festival’s media partner. For programme and ticket details visit www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk