Thatcher denies share deals

Mrs Margaret Thatcher last night repudiated reports that she had dealt in shares in an Australian company while prime minister.

Between 1971 and 1986 the shareholding increased to its current level through a series of right and dividend issues and share splits, rather than dealing.

But the Prime Minister faces sharp questioning in the Commons today after admitting that it was not until last year that her share holdings, including those in Broken Hill Proprietary, which was the subject of weekend reports about alleged share-dealing, had been transferred to an investment firm for them to handle without reference to her.

It has been a convention with previous prime ministers, and other senior ministers, that they have placed their affairs in the hands of trusts on taking office, although Downing Street sources have repeatedly emphasised that there is nothing in the rules governing ministerial conduct against the holding of shares.

The statement, aimed specifically at allegations in The Mail on Sunday, was felt by MPs last night to have raised new questions about the affair. It made clear that Mrs Thatcher had had other shares up until last year.

However, it did not state that she had not dealt in those shares. Downing Street said last night that the statement was directed at the allegations about Mrs Thatcher's BHP holding, which the statement had refuted, but it declined to elaborate on any other matters raised by the statement.

Last night a Downing Street statement said that in 1971 (when Mrs Thatcher was Secretary of State for Education and Science), she bought a small shareholding in BHP which was registered in her own name.

The statement made clear that the holding had reached its present level through natural accrual, and not through dealing, the central allegation of The Mail on Sunday report.

But the statement went on to add: “Last year Mrs Thatcher made arrangements for her holdings of shares, including her holdings in BHP, to be transferred to a firm of investment managers with full powers to buy and sell shares without reference to her. From then onwards 1,303 BHP shares were transferred to the nominees of the investment managers and the remaining 24 shares are in course of transfer to them.

Mr John Smith, Labour's chief spokesman on industry, said last night: “It is surprising that she only made arrangements for her holdings to be held in a trust a year ago” .