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 1701 - 1750 of 5082

Per page:

File name	File title	Begins	Ends	Release date	Any docs withheld?	Classification	Pages
PREM19/1634	Security (Security Commission: review of security procedures; appointments; cases referred; 'Three Advisers' on appeals against positive vetting clearance refusals - terms of reference and procedures)	Begins: 1981 Apr 1	Ends: 1985 Sep 5	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 253
PREM19/1635	Security (Prime Minister's visit to Century House (SIS headquarters), September 1984)	Begins: 1984 Sep 5	Ends: 1984 Oct 8	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 1	Classification: Top Secret	Pages: 10
PREM19/1637	Social Services (Unemployment benefit: benefit limit; Family Income Supplement; taxation of social security benefits, supplementary benefits and strikers' benefits) (Part 4)	Begins: 1980 Jun 18	Ends: 1984 Nov 26	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 201
PREM19/1638	Social Services (Reform of social security: pensions, housing benefit and supplementary benefit; child support) (Part 1)	Begins: 1984 Dec 28	Ends: 1985 Mar 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 232
PREM19/1639	Social Services (Reform of social security: pensions, housing benefit and supplementary benefit; child support) (Part 2)	Begins: 1985 Apr 4	Ends: 1985 May 31	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 251
PREM19/1640	Social Services (Reform of social security: pensions, housing benefit and supplementary benefit; child support) (Part 3)	Begins: 1985 Jun 3	Ends: 1985 Nov 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 347
PREM19/1641	South Africa (Internal situation: relations with UK) (Part 4)	Begins: 1984 Oct 1	Ends: 1985 Jun 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 358
PREM19/1642	South Africa (Internal situation: relations with UK) (Part 5)	Begins: 1985 Jul 1	Ends: 1985 Aug 31	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 2	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 358
PREM19/1643	South Africa (Internal situation: relations with UK) (Part 6)	Begins: 1985 Sep 2	Ends: 1985 Sep 30	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 5	Classification: Secret	Pages: 311
PREM19/1644	South Africa (Internal situation: relations with UK) (Part 7)	Begins: 1985 Oct 1	Ends: 1985 Oct 31	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 351
PREM19/1645	Soviet Union (Economic relations: control on strategic exports; United States sanctions; sale of Rolls-Royce gas turbines; Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) list review) (Part 2)	Begins: 1982 Nov 12	Ends: 1985 Oct 24	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret and Personal	Pages: 286
PREM19/1646	Soviet Union (Prime Minister's visits to Moscow for the funerals of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko in February 1984 and March 1985 respectively)	Begins: 1984 Feb 13	Ends: 1985 Mar 15	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 295
PREM19/1647	Soviet Union (UK/Soviet relations) (Part 4)	Begins: 1985 Jan 3	Ends: 1985 Oct 25	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 26	Classification: Top Secret	Pages: 341
PREM19/1648	Trade (Export promotion: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); export credits; contract for second Bosphorus bridge) (Part 4)	Begins: 1984 Jun 1	Ends: 1985 Jun 27	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 398
PREM19/1649	Transport (Channel Fixed Link (Channel Tunnel): economic considerations; discussions with the French) (Part 2)	Begins: 1982 Feb 16	Ends: 1985 Mar 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 280
PREM19/1650	Transport (Channel Fixed Link (Channel Tunnel): economic considerations; discussions with the French) (Part 3)	Begins: 1985 Apr 1	Ends: 1985 Dec 24	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 309
PREM19/1651	Transport (London Underground dispute, June 1979: reactivation of Civil Contingencies Unit; arbitration; London Transport pay; threatened London Underground and bus strikes)	Begins: 1979 May 31	Ends: 1985 May 20	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 122
PREM19/1652	USA (Visit to UK by Elizabeth Dole, US Secretary of Transportation: call on Prime Minister, May 1)	Begins: 1983 Aug 29	Ends: 1985 May 17	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 19
PREM19/1653	USA (Visits to UK by Arthur Burns, former Chairman of Federal Reserve Board: meeting with Prime Minister, September 1979)	Begins: 1979 Aug 13	Ends: 1985 Nov 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 61
PREM19/1654	USA (Economic situation in the United States) (Part 2)	Begins: 1982 Oct 12	Ends: 1985 Feb 28	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 411
PREM19/1655	USA (Visits to UK by George Shultz, US Secretary of State: meetings with Prime Minister)	Begins: 1982 Apr 9	Ends: 1985 Dec 12	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 6	Classification: Secret	Pages: 271
PREM19/1656	USA (UK/USA relations) (Part 3)	Begins: 1984 Feb 9	Ends: 1985 May 31	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 6	Classification: Secret	Pages: 333
PREM19/1657	USA (Prime Minister's visit to Washington and New York, February 1981) (Part 2)	Begins: 1981 Feb 20	Ends: 1985 Oct 23	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 103
PREM19/1658	USA (Prime Minister's visit to Washington, February 1985) (Part 4A)	Begins: 1984 Dec 10	Ends: 1985 Feb 15	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 4	Classification: Secret	Pages: 320
PREM19/1659	USA (Prime Minister's visit to Washington, February 1985) (Part 4B)	Begins: 1985 Feb 13	Ends: 1985 Mar 15	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 187
PREM19/1660	USA (Prime Minister's visit to New York and the United Nations, October 1985) (Part 5)	Begins: 1985 Apr 15	Ends: 1985 Oct 15	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 398
PREM19/1661	USA (Prime Minister's visit to Washington, July 1985)	Begins: 1985 Jul 8	Ends: 1985 Jul 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 278
PREM19/1662	Civil Service (Industrial relations in the Civil Service: Department of Health and Social Security industrial action)	Begins: 1979 Sep 5	Ends: 1985 Oct 14	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 213
PREM19/1663	Deaths (Assassination of Indira Gandhi, October 1984: Prime Minister's visit to India to attend funeral)	Begins: 1984 Oct 31	Ends: 1985 Dec 12	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 184
PREM19/1664	Aerospace (British Aerospace (BAe): shares for employees)	Begins: 1980 May 3	Ends: 1986 Jul 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 95
PREM19/1665	Aerospace (Future and structure of British Airways: settlement of litigation concerning the collapse of Laker Airways; airports policy; USA/UK future aviation strategy; economic regulation of airports; competition regime for UK/US aviation) (Part 4)	Begins: 1985 May 3	Ends: 1986 Jan 24	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 387
PREM19/1666	Aerospace (Future and structure of British Airways: engines for British Airways Boeing 747-400s; UK/US air services; UK/Canada air services) (Part 5)	Begins: 1986 Jan 1	Ends: 1986 Dec 22	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 292
PREM19/1667	Aerospace (Westland Helicopters) (Part 2)	Begins: 1985 Dec 28	Ends: 1986 Jan 10	Date of release: 2016 Feb 19		Classification: Secret	Pages: 413
PREM19/1668	Aerospace (Westland Helicopters) (Part 3)	Begins: 1986 Jan 12	Ends: 1986 Jan 24	Date of release: 2016 Feb 19		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 318
PREM19/1669	Aerospace (Westland Helicopters) (Part 4)	Begins: 1986 Jan 25	Ends: 1986 Feb 28	Date of release: 2016 Feb 19		Classification: Secret	Pages: 483
PREM19/1670	Aerospace (Westland Helicopters) (Part 5)	Begins: 1986 Mar 3	Ends: 1986 Jul 31	Date of release: 2016 Feb 19		Classification: Secret	Pages: 303
PREM19/1671	Aerospace (Westland Helicopters) (Part 6)	Begins: 1986 Aug 1	Ends: 1986 Nov 19	Date of release: 2016 Feb 19		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 378
PREM19/1672	Afghanistan (Soviet invasion) (Part 6)	Begins: 1981 Sep 22	Ends: 1985 Oct 23	Date of release: 2018 Jul 24	Any docs withheld? 11	Classification: Top Secret	Pages: 323
PREM19/1675	Australia (Visits of Australian Prime Ministers to London: Malcolm Fraser (February 1980 and July 1981) and Robert Hawke (June 1983 and April 1986); meetings with the Prime Minister) (Part 1)	Begins: 1980 Jan 21	Ends: 1986 Apr 22	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 10	Classification: Secret	Pages: 266
PREM19/1676	Belize (Dispute with Guatemala) (Part 2)	Begins: 1982 May 5	Ends: 1983 Feb 28	Date of release: 2024 Jan 1
PREM19/1677	Broadcasting (Television licence fees: report by Professor Alan Peacock's Committee on Financing the BBC; BBC accounts) (Part 2)	Begins: 1984 Apr 4	Ends: 1986 Jun 30	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 137
PREM19/1678	Broadcasting (Direct broadcasting by satellite: cable systems and their effect on broadcasting policy) (Part 5)	Begins: 1984 May 1	Ends: 1986 Feb 26	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 268
PREM19/1679	Cabinet (Cabinet Committee structure and membership) (Part 2)	Begins: 1982 Oct 6	Ends: 1986 Jan 24	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 214
PREM19/1680	Cabinet (Questions of Procedure for Ministers) (Part 2)	Begins: 1981 Nov 18	Ends: 1986 Jan 31	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 310
PREM19/1681	Canada (Prime Minister's Visit to Canada, July 1986: Vancouver Transportation Exposition 1986 (Expo 86))	Begins: 1981 Jul 8	Ends: 1986 Sep 12	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 286
PREM19/1682	China (Sino-British relations) (Part 3)	Begins: 1985 Jun 1	Ends: 1986 Jun 29	Date of release: 2018 Dec 28
PREM19/1683	Civil Service (Long term management and manpower policy: control of civil service running costs; duties and responsibilities of civil servants; performance bonus experiment; budgeting in government departments) (Part 18)	Begins: 1985 Sep 10	Ends: 1986 Apr 30	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 380
PREM19/1684	Civil Service (Long term management and manpower policy: duties and responsibilities of civil servants; performance bonuses) (Part 19)	Begins: 1986 May 2	Ends: 1986 Sep 30	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 329
PREM19/1685	Civil Service (Pay and pensions: pay dispute; review of early retirement arrangements) (Part 15)	Begins: 1985 Apr 7	Ends: 1986 May 29	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 405
PREM19/1686	Civil Service (Property Services Agency (PSA) restructuring: report by Sir Geoffrey Wardale on fraud in the PSA) (Part 1)	Begins: 1982 Jul 22	Ends: 1986 Aug 5	Date of release: 2014 Dec 30		Classification: Secret	Pages: 392

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