In the 1981 Birthday Honours Ryder was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for political service.

The maverick MPs, known as the Maastricht Rebels, were under intense pressure from the government whips but still brought the administration of John Major close to collapse.

Davies resigned following the criticism of the BBC in the Hutton Report, which was set up to investigate "the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly".

One of Ryder's first acts as chairman was to give a televised statement, during which he offered an unreserved apology for the mistakes made during the Dr. Kelly affair.

In the same statement Ryder announced that the process to select a new Chairman had begun, and that he would not be putting his name forward.