Archive

Treasury Private Office papers

In 2012 www.margaretthatcher.org uncovered through an FOI request the existence of a vast cache of secret papers stored at H.M. Treasury, some 4,850 files from the Private Office of successive Chancellors (and Chief Secretaries) between 1979 and 1997.

The files contain the most politically sensitive documents from the very top of the Treasury, the small circle of Ministers, Special Advisers and Private Secretaries, which were stored, when in use, only a few doors from the Chancellor's room for convenience and security. Their like is rarely found at the National Archives in Kew. These documents are of deep historical interest, an intact Private Office collection in scale and importance exceeded only by that from No.10 itself, relied on by Treasury ministers when writing their memoirs. It is an un-looted tomb in Whitehall's Valley of the Kings - the Palace accountant's rather than the Pharaoh's, but well worth the ticket.

When it first revealed the existence of the files the Treasury stated that it intended to destroy the whole lot, waiting politely till the various Chancellors died off. It was claimed, quite mistakenly, that the contents of these files are either ephemeral or copied elsewhere, and so should not be considered part of "the definitive policy record" maintained by its various divisions for archiving at Kew.

Later, and following representations, officials denied that destruction was ever intended. The first section, covering the Chancellorship of Sir Geoffrey Howe, 1979-83, was released at TNA in 2016; the files have been digitised and uploaded to the list below. The bulk of Nigel Lawson's files, 1983-89, were released at TNA in early 2018 and have also been digitised; they are being uploaded progressively and many are now available on this page. The spreadsheet giving the full list 1979-97 can be downloaded below.

Although some of the files relate to 1979 and 1980, the filing system glimpsed here only got into full operation in 1981, so earlier records are something of a legacy from what went before and are significantly fewer.

The Treasury has also released Nick Ridley's surviving Private Office files as Financial Secretary to the Treasury. These are diferent in form to the Chancellor's files, consisting largely of photocopies of minutes and meetings records relating to directly to Ridley with very little incoming correspondence. They are not listed in the spreadsheet already mentioned, so must derive from the 'unstructured' files already referred to. They are in rough chronological order - a sort of day file.

How to use this page?

Below are links to the downloadable files in numerical order. The original file names have been modified to convey content more readily.

An average file has around 100 pages.

Some of these downloads are very big, as large as 50MB, though most are in the range 1-10MB.

Where documents within a file have been selected for the site database, they can easily be viewed by clicking the file name link.

Selected documents in site database

Documents from the files selected for the site database can be read here. Progressively more will be uploaded over time.

Showing items 26 - 50 of 1283

Per page:
File name File title Begins Ends Release date Any docs withheld? Classification Pages
T639/62 Budget (Reaction to the budget - backbench rebellion to secure reduction in DERV - correspondence, minutes, meeting records) Part B Begins: 1981 May 1 Ends: 1981 Jun 29 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 104
T639/63 Europe (ECOFIN [Brussels], Mar 1981; preparation for G5, April 1981 - briefing, draft conclusions, notes passed in meeting) Part A Begins: 1980 Oct 13 Ends: 1981 Mar 13 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 240
T639/64 Europe (ECOFIN [Luxembourg], Jun 1981; meeting with European Investment Bank governors, Jun 1981 - briefing, correspondence, handwritten speaking notes) Part B Begins: 1981 May 27 Ends: 1981 Jun 12 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 128
T639/65 Europe (ECOFIN [Luxembourg], Jun 1981; meeting with European Investment Bank governors, Jun 1981 - briefing, bilaterals, meeting records) Part C Begins: 1981 Jun 14 Ends: 1981 Jun 16 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 94
T639/72 National Insurance (Nov 1980 NI increases, argument over announcement - minutes, correspondence, meeting records) Part A Begins: 1979 Nov 25 Ends: 1981 Jan 8 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 94
T639/73 Monetary policy (Niehans Report on sterling overvaluation - minutes, correspondence) Part A Begins: 1981 Feb 16 Ends: 1981 Mar 18 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 14
T639/74 Monetary policy (Sterling overvaluation - minutes copied to "Exchange rate box") Part A Begins: 1981 Jan 8 Ends: 1981 Jul 8 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 28
T639/6 Public spending (Social Security; decision to uprate long-term benefits historically & in line with prices - minutes, correspondence) Part A Begins: 1979 May 11 Ends: 1979 May 17 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 61
T639/75 Europe (ECOFIN [Brussels], Nov 1981- briefing, minute of meeting) Part A Begins: 1980 Apr 21 Ends: 1981 Nov 19 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 73
T639/79 International (Lunch at No.11 with US Treasury Secretary (Donald Regan), 12 Apr 1981 - briefing on Reagan administration attitude to UK economic policy) Begins: 1981 Apr 10 Ends: 1981 Apr 12 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 39
T639/80 International (Lunch with Vice-President Bush at US Embassy in London, 25 Jun 1981 - briefing) Begins: 1981 Jun 19 Ends: 1981 Jun 24 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 21
T639/81 International (Visit of Japanese Planning Agency Director-General, 18 Jun 1981 - briefing, record of conversation) Begins: 1981 Jun 12 Ends: 1981 Jun 18 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 67
T639/82 Europe (Visit of UK European Commissioner Christopher Tugendhat, 15 May 1981; EC budget restructuring - briefing, record of conversation) Begins: 1981 May 11 Ends: 1981 May 19 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 26
T639/83 Europe (Meeting with European Council Secretariat Director-General Christofas; planning for UK European Presidency Jul-Dec 1981 - briefing, record of conversations, draft meeting record) Begins: 1981 May 6 Ends: 1981 Jun 8 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 36
T639/88 Political (1981-82 policy work, public opinion & 1983 general election) Part A Begins: 1981 Aug 6 Ends: 1982 Apr 27 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 320
T639/92 Budget (Representations on the 1982 Budget) Begins: 1981 Oct 20 Ends: 1982 Feb 12 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 371
T639/165 Budget (World economic trends and the 1983 budget) Begins: 1982 Sep 23 Ends: 1983 Jan 6 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 266
T639/97 Budget (Taxation of North Sea oil and petrochemicals) Begins: 1982 Feb 16 Ends: 1982 May 27 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 192
T639/98 Political (Chacellor's Conservative Party conference summer school lecture July 1982) Begins: 1982 Jun 18 Ends: 1982 Jun 29 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 142
T639/100 Political (Chancellor's morning meetings ['Prayers'], 1982 - meeting records) Begins: 1982 Jan 7 Ends: 1982 Sep 29 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 207
T639/103 Administration (Communication between Whitehall and the clearing banks) Begins: 1982 May 21 Ends: 1982 Sep 28 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 64
T639/104 Political (Conservative industrial policy the outlook for industry) Begins: 1981 Oct 7 Ends: 1982 Dec 24 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 146
T639/105 Budget (Pensions and the budget) Begins: 1980 Jan 7 Ends: 1982 Jul 1 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 187
T639/106 International (Versailles G7 Economic Summit June - July 1982) Begins: 1982 Apr 26 Ends: 1982 Jul 26 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 108
T639/108 International (Talks with US Treasury Minister Regan on the British and American economies) Begins: 1982 Feb 4 Ends: 1982 May 11 Date of release: 2012 Classification: Confidential Pages: 76
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