Prime Minister Mugabe kept Peter Walls, the head of the army, in his government and put him in charge of integrating the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Rhodesian Army. While Western media outlets praised Mugabe's efforts at reconciliation with the white minority, tension soon developed. On March 17, 1980, after several unsuccessful assassination attempts Mugabe asked Walls, "Why are your men trying to kill me?" Walls replied, "If they were my men you would be dead." BBC news interviewed Walls on August 11, 1980. He told the BBC that he had asked British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to annul the 1980 presidential election prior to the official announcement of the result on the grounds that Mugabe used intimidation to win the election. Walls said Thatcher had not replied to his request. On August 12 British government officials denied that they had not responded, saying Antony Duff, Deputy Governor of Salisbury, told Walls on March 3 that Thatcher would not annul the election.