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Large scale document archive

1985 Sep 3 - 1986 Mar 7
Prime Ministerial Private Office files

PREM19/1801
Industrial policy (Future of British Leyland) (Part 10)

Source: TNA, PREM19 series
Release date: 2014 Dec 30
Classification: Secret
Page count: 294
Any docs withheld?

PREM19/1801 - download whole file (PDF, 195.5 MB)

Selections from this file

Showing items 1 - 20 of 59

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Date Value Title
85 Sep 3 Tu Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit minute to MT ("Department of Trade and Industry - the next moves") [British Leyland privatisation; new brooms] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Sep 6 Fr Major Industrial Policy: No.10 minute: Policy Unit to Norgrove ("ARG borrowings") [British Leyland privatisation] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Sep 26 Th Major Industrial Policy: Brittan minute to MT ("BL privatisation") [British Leyland stalling over sale of Unipart; GM being courted for Land Rover-Leyland sale] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Oct 1 Tu Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit briefing for MT ("Bilateral with Leon Brittan on BL") [British Leyland stalling over sale of Unipart; GM being courted for Land Rover-Leyland sale] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Oct 3 Th Major Industrial Policy: No.10 record of conversation (MT, Brittan, Peter Morrison) ["BL": privatisation of British Leyland] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Oct 7 Mo Major Industrial Policy: Chancellor of the Exchequer letter to Brittan ("BL privatisation") [dismayed by delay of Unipart sell-off; GM negotiations; "...1oo per cent of the businesses should be sold ... [but] separate out.... profitable companies like Land Rover for separate privatisation"] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Oct 25 Fr Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit minute to MT ("BL") [ailing British Leyland being taken in hand by Government; Unipart to be sold off] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Nov 25 Mo Major Industrial Policy: Brittan minute to MT ("BL privatisation: GM/Land Rover-Leyland") [Government's conditions if sale is to proceed; need for disposal of loss-making Leyland Bus prior to GM deal; injection of public money to pay off BL residual debts, and the associated political risk] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Nov 29 Fr Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit minute to MT ("Bids for Unipart and Austin Rover") ["If both Ford for ARG and GM for LR-L are succssful, then BL could be history by the middle of 1986. The downside is the political difficulty... and... debt which could cost the contingency reserve £400m"] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Nov 29 Fr Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit minute to MT ("BL privatisation - GM/Land Rover-Leyland") ["While we should press GM to increase their offer... if the businesses are not sold then losses will continue and borrowings mount. The equity injection will score against PSBR but this is little to pay compared to the long term savings..."] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Dec 2 Mo Major Industrial Policy: John MacGregor minute to MT ("BL privatisation: GM/Land Rover-Leyland") [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Dec 2 Mo Major Industrial Policy: Brittan minute to MT ("Ford/Austin Rover ("Maverick")") ["...although it raises some very difficult questions for us, the Ford approach offers the only realistic early opportunity for achieving our privatisation objectives"] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Dec 3 Tu Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit briefing for MT ("Meeting on BL") [GM bid for Land Rover-Leyland; Ford bid for Austin Rover] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Dec 4 We Major Industrial Policy: No.10 record of conversation (MT, Brittan, Lawson, Peter Morrison) ["BL privatisation": "...the main issue was the treatment of debt relating to LRL..."] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Dec 12 Th Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit minute to MT ("BL privatisation: GM/Land Rover-Leyland") [Government & GM haggling over price] [declassified Dec 2014]
85 Dec 12 Th Major Industrial Policy: Brittan letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer ("BL privatisation: GM/Land Rover-Leyland") [financial strategies for closing the deal] [declassified Dec 2014]
86 Jan 17 Fr Major Industrial Policy: No.10 briefing for MT ("Bilateral with Mr Brittan") [sale of British Leyland - "These discussions need of course now to be seen in the light of the Westland affair..."] [declassified Dec 2014]
86 Jan 22 We Major Industrial Policy: Chairman/Chief Executive of Land Rover-Leyland Ltd letter to MT (possible sale by BL plc of Land Rover UK Ltd and related businesses) ["My declared interest is in exploring the feasability of a consortium backed management buy-out of Land Rover UK Ltd... deep concerns about certain aspects of the SALTON proposals..."] [declassified Dec 2014]
86 Jan 27 Mo Major Industrial Policy: Tebbit PS letter to No.10 ("BL: LRL and ARG") ["The effect of the heated debate on Westland has been to focus attention on the extent of US ownership of sectors of British industry"] [declassified Dec 2014]
86 Jan 27 Mo Major Industrial Policy: No.10 Policy Unit minute to MT ("British Leyland") [GM bid for Land Rover-Leyland/Ford bid for Austin Rover] [declassified Dec 2014]