Archive

MT's official files as Prime Minister, 1979-90

MT's official files as PM can be read on this site as they are released, in full and free to all - the confidential files originally stored at No.10, the core record of her premiership.

The files have been copied at the British National Archives (TNA) at Kew in London and can be downloaded precisely as they appear in the reading room.

We are doing something more to help people make sense of this mass of information. The files are subject-based, logically enough, but that system makes it difficult to reconstruct the flow of paper across the Prime Minister’s desk at any point in time, depriving us of a sense of context, of the political cross-winds, some of them overwhelming.

To combat this effect we are uploading a large selection of the most important documents from these files – thousands in total - to our powerful site database. You can search and sort by date, subject and other parameters, getting as close as anyone can now get to reconstructing the Prime Minister’s daily "Red Boxes", the rich diet of foreign and domestic policy papers submitted to her by the No.10 Private Office.

List and links to the PM’s files

Below are links to the downloadable files in numerical order. The subject terms are those used in the original filing system.

An average file has around 200 pages.

You can read here an account of how filing worked at No.10, and the system for archiving MT’s Prime Ministerial papers, both of which had their quirks.

Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Private Office files, 1979-1989

1979-89: Chancellor’s Private Office files [links to hundreds of digitised files from the Chancellorships of Sir Geoffrey Howe and Nigel Lawson]

Engagement Diaries

An alternative way through the material is to read MT’s engagement diaries, jumping day to day.

The engagement diaries link directly to relevant documents in the site database, so this is a good way to recover the perspective from the Red Box.

Showing items 1 - 25 of 3726

Per page:
File name File title Begins Ends Release date Any docs withheld? Classification Pages
PREM19/2222 Home Affairs (Monopolies and Mergers Commission Report on proposed takeover of House of Fraser by Lonrho) Begins: 1987 Jan 12 Ends: 1987 Oct 28 Date of release: Retained Classification: Closed for 40 years
PREM19/2231 Hong Kong (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)) Begins: 1985 Aug 28 Ends: 1987 Jul 21 Date of release: Retained Classification: Closed for 40 years
PREM19/2394 Prime Minister (Mark Thatcher and the Omanis: other allegations against Mark Thatcher) Begins: 1984 Jan 1 Ends: 1988 Nov 9 Date of release: Retained Classification: Closed for 40 years
PREM19/1366 Royal family (Visit by the Queen to Liverpool, May 1984) Begins: 1984 Mar 12 Ends: 1984 May 14 Date of release: 2032 Jan 1 Classification: Closed for 47 years
PREM19/1367 Royal family (Relations between the media and members of the Royal Family; possible legal measures to prevent harassment) Begins: 1984 Jan 3 Ends: 1984 Jan 18 Date of release: Retained Classification: Closed for 47 years
PREM19/2467 Regional Policy (London Docklands Development Corporation: dismissal of John Mills as deputy chairman) Begins: 1985 Jul 18 Ends: 1987 Dec 10 Date of release: Retained Classification: Closed for 51 years
PREM19/118 Royal family (Security of HMQ during visit to Lusaka CHOGM) Begins: 1979 May 9 Ends: 1979 Jul 27 Date of release: 2032 Jan 1 Classification: Closed for 52 years
PREM19/209 Energy (Offshore supplies interest relief grants scheme; report on irregular payments) Begins: 1979 Sep 13 Ends: 1980 Jun 2 Date of release: 2034 Jan 1 Classification: Closed for 53 years
PREM19/2395 Prime Minister (Cementation contract: Mark Thatcher and the Omanis) (Part 1) Begins: 1981 May 4 Ends: 1988 Mar 9 Date of release: Retained Classification: Closed for 65 years
PREM19/2396 Prime Minister (Cementation contract: Mark Thatcher and the Omanis) (Part 2) Begins: 1984 Jan 15 Ends: 1988 Mar 19 Date of release: Retained Classification: Closed for 65 years
PREM19/85 Ireland (Information policy - correspondence with HRH Prince of Wales) Begins: 1979 Nov 16 Ends: 1979 Dec 17 Date of release: 2054 Jan 1 Classification: Closed for 74 years
PREM19/3755 European Policy (European Commission: appointment of President, UK Commissioners and Secretariat; allocation of European Commission portfolios) (Part 4) Begins: 1988 Sep 27 Ends: 1992 Jul 31 Date of release: 2053 Jan 1 Classification: Closed under FOI exemptions
PREM19/1524 Home Affairs (Monopolies and Mergers papers) (Part 1) Begins: 1981 Dec 10 Ends: 1985 Dec 19 Date of release: 2054 Jan 1 Classification: Closed under FOI exemptions
PREM19/1 Archives (Suez 1956 files) Begins: 1980 Feb 21 Ends: 1986 Jun 30 Date of release: 2006 Dec 1 Classification: Confidential Pages: 36
PREM19/2 Australia (MT visit to, Jul 1979) Begins: 1979 May 21 Ends: 1979 Aug 3 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 212
PREM19/3 China (Premier Hua visit to UK, Oct 1979) (Part 1) Begins: 1979 May 18 Ends: 1979 Nov 29 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 236
PREM19/4 Civil Service (Dispersal) (Part 1) Begins: 1979 May 22 Ends: 1979 Oct 15 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 109
PREM19/5 Civil Service (Manpower Freeze) (Part 1) Begins: 1979 May 8 Ends: 1979 May 28 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 189
PREM19/6 Civil Service (Manpower Freeze) (Part 2) Begins: 1979 Sep 7 Ends: 1979 Dec 31 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 198
PREM19/7 Civil Service (Christmas Message) Begins: 1979 Nov 20 Ends: 1979 Nov 26 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 4
PREM19/10 Commonwealth (Lusaka CHOGM - bilaterals) Begins: 1979 Jul 31 Ends: 1979 Aug 17 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Any docs withheld? 2 Classification: Confidential Pages: 56
PREM19/12 Cuba (UK credits) Begins: 1979 Nov 19 Ends: 1979 Dec 14 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Any docs withheld? 1 Classification: Confidential Pages: 9
PREM19/16 Defence (Anglo-German offset agreement) Begins: 1979 Jul 5 Ends: 1979 Nov 27 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 8
PREM19/30 Economic policy (National Economic Development Council) (NEDC) (Part 1) Begins: 1979 May 15 Ends: 1979 Dec 18 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 219
PREM19/35 Economic policy (Price Commission & Competition Bill)(Part 1) Begins: 1979 May 7 Ends: 1979 Jun 28 Date of release: 2009 Dec 30 Classification: Confidential Pages: 167
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