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 2401 - 2450 of 3726

Per page:

File name	File title	Begins	Ends	Release date	Any docs withheld?	Classification	Pages
PREM19/2432	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Poland, November 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1988 Feb 1	Ends: 1988 Nov 6	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 12	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 260
PREM19/2433	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Invitations, all declined, from various organisations in the USA) (Part 2)	Begins: 1982 Apr 1	Ends: 1986 Sep 30	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 1	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 310
PREM19/2434	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Vancouver, and private visit to Dallas, October 1987: administrative arrangements) (Part 1)	Begins: 1987 Mar 1	Ends: 1987 Sep 30	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 17	Classification: Secret	Pages: 203
PREM19/2435	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Vancouver, and private visit to Dallas, October 1987: administrative arrangements) (Part 2)	Begins: 1987 Oct 1	Ends: 1987 Nov 18	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 12	Classification: Secret	Pages: 181
PREM19/2436	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to European Council meeting in Brussels, June 1987: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Mar 6	Ends: 1987 Jul 2	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 4	Classification: Restricted	Pages: 29
PREM19/2437	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to European Council meeting in Copenhagen, December 1987: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Aug 28	Ends: 1987 Dec 3	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 10	Classification: Secret	Pages: 68
PREM19/2438	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to European Council meeting in Brussels, February 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Dec 6	Ends: 1988 Feb 23	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 7	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 39
PREM19/2439	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to European Council meeting in Hanover, June 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Jun 18	Ends: 1988 Jul 4	Date of release: 2016 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 7	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 40
PREM19/2440	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to European Council meeting in Rhodes, December 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Nov 23	Ends: 1988 Dec 5	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7	Any docs withheld? 3	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 50
PREM19/2441	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Invitations, declined, from organisations in Israel)	Begins: 1980 Jul 8	Ends: 1987 Mar 25	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Unclassified	Pages: 9
PREM19/2442	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Kenya and Nigeria, January 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Oct 28	Ends: 1988 Jul 28	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 27	Classification: Secret	Pages: 270
PREM19/2443	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Australia, August 1988: administrative arrangements) (Part 1)	Begins: 1988 Jan 20	Ends: 1988 Jun 30	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 12	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 189
PREM19/2444	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain, September 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Dec 6	Ends: 1988 Nov 14	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7	Any docs withheld? 13	Classification: Secret	Pages: 254
PREM19/2445	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Berlin, September 1987: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Aug 6	Ends: 1987 Sep 28	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7	Any docs withheld? 4	Classification: Secret	Pages: 64
PREM19/2446	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to France and Germany, March 1987: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Mar 5	Ends: 1987 Mar 25	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7	Any docs withheld? 3	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 30
PREM19/2447	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Italy for Anglo-Italian Summit, October 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Dec 21	Ends: 1988 Oct 20	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7	Any docs withheld? 9	Classification: Secret	Pages: 66
PREM19/2448	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to NATO, February 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Sep 25	Ends: 1988 Feb 22	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 2	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 53
PREM19/2449	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Paris for ratification of the Channel Tunnel Treaty, July 1987: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Jul 7	Ends: 1987 Jul 30	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7	Any docs withheld? 1	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 27
PREM19/2450	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Paris, November 1987: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Nov 1	Ends: 1987 Nov 23	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7	Any docs withheld? 2	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 18
PREM19/2451	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Paris, June 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1988 May 13	Ends: 1988 Jun 27	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 4	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 24
PREM19/2452	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Paris, November 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1988 Nov 23	Ends: 1988 Nov 29	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 8
PREM19/2453	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to G7 Economic Summit in Toronto and to Ottawa, June 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Jun 30	Ends: 1988 Aug 10	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 7	Classification: Secret	Pages: 318
PREM19/2454	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to NATO Summit, March 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1988 Jan 19	Ends: 1988 Mar 7	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 6	Classification: Secret	Pages: 35
PREM19/2455	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to the Soviet Union, March-April 1987: administrative arrangements) (Part 1)	Begins: 1986 Sep 29	Ends: 1987 Mar 27	Date of release: 2016 Dec 30		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 310
PREM19/2456	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to the Soviet Union, March-April 1987: administrative arrangements) (Part 2)	Begins: 1987 Apr 2	Ends: 1987 Sep 7	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Restricted	Pages: 59
PREM19/2457	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to G7 Summit - Venice, June 1987: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1986 Oct 30	Ends: 1987 Aug 4	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 6	Classification: Secret	Pages: 85
PREM19/2458	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Turkey, April 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1988 Jan 5	Ends: 1988 May 12	Date of release: 2016 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 15	Classification: Secret	Pages: 220
PREM19/2459	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to Washington, November 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1988 Jun 8	Ends: 1988 Dec 28	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 10	Classification: Secret	Pages: 207
PREM19/2460	Prime Minister's Tours Abroad (Prime Minister's visit to USA and Jamaica, July 1988: administrative arrangements)	Begins: 1987 Jun 12	Ends: 1987 Sep 4	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 7	Classification: Secret	Pages: 104
PREM19/2461	Regional Policy (Inner Cities Initiative: development of Canary Wharf and extension of Docklands Light Railway; new Urban Development Corporations) (Part 9)	Begins: 1986 Dec 2	Ends: 1987 Apr 28	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 2	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 240
PREM19/2462	Regional Policy (Inner Cities Initiative: report by Eric Sorensen; Phoenix initiative; development of Canary Wharf and extension of Docklands Light Railway) (Part 10)	Begins: 1987 May 1	Ends: 1987 Sep 22	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 2	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 262
PREM19/2463	Regional Policy (Inner Cities Initiative: action following report by Eric Sorensen; Ministerial and departmental responsibility for coordination and presentation of policy towards inner cities; Kenneth Clarke, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, to assume coordination responsibility; designation of further Urban Development Corporations (UDCs)) (Part 11)	Begins: 1987 Sep 23	Ends: 1987 Nov 10	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21	Any docs withheld? 3	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 306
PREM19/2464	Regional Policy (Inner Cities Initiative: action following report by Eric Sorensen; Ministerial and departmental responsibility for coordination and presentation of policy towards inner cities; Kenneth Clarke, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, to assume coordination responsibility; designation of further Urban Development Corporations (UDCs); Canary Wharf development by Olympia & York) (Part 12)	Begins: 1987 Dec 1	Ends: 1988 Feb 29	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 357
PREM19/2465	Regional Policy (Inner Cities Initiative: launch by Prime Minister of 'Action for Cities'; function of Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster as Minister coordinating inner city policy; review of Cabinet Office Unit under Eric Sorensen) (Part 13)	Begins: 1988 Mar 1	Ends: 1988 May 31	Date of release: 2016 Dec 30	Any docs withheld? 3	Classification: Confidential	Pages: 296
PREM19/2466	Regional Policy (Inner Cities Initiative: progress on 'Action for Cities'; Teesside development initiative; access to Cabinet and Prime Minister's office papers by National Audit Office for study on urban regeneration; Cardiff Bay Barrage) (Part 14)	Begins: 1988 Jun 1	Ends: 1988 Jul 28	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Secret	Pages: 172
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
PREM19/2468	Royal Family (Career of the Duke of Kent: possibility of his taking on an unpaid non-executive board appointment in the public sector)	Begins: 1979 May 23	Ends: 1987 Apr 9	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Retained Sec 3.4
PREM19/2469	Royal Family (Procedures for members of the Royal Family taking up jobs and other commercial appointments)	Begins: 1988 Dec 7	Ends: 1988 Dec 7	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Retained Sec 3.4
PREM19/2470	Royal Family (Proposals relating to the papers concerning the Abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936)	Begins: 1985 Feb 21	Ends: 1988 Mar 24	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Retained Sec 3.4
PREM19/2471	Royal Family (Marriage of the Earl of St Andrews, son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent)	Begins: 1986 Dec 5	Ends: 1986 Dec 8	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Retained Sec 3.4
PREM19/2472	Royal Family (Career of Prince Andrew, Duke of York)	Begins: 1979 May 21	Ends: 1987 Oct 30	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Retained Sec 3.4
PREM19/2473	Royal Family (The Prince of Wales' Special Projects Unit)	Begins: 1987 Jul 29	Ends: 1987 Sep 1	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Retained Sec 3.4
PREM19/2474	Royal Family (Visits by the Queen to security services)	Begins: 1980 Nov 4	Ends: 1988 Apr 28	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Retained Sec 3.4
PREM19/2475	Saudi Arabia (Internal situation: relations with UK)	Begins: 1986 May 1	Ends: 1987 Feb 26	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Temporarily retained by Department
PREM19/2476	Saudi Arabia (Visits by Crown Prince Abdullah, February 1984 and June 1988)	Begins: 1982 Oct 7	Ends: 1988 Jun 21	Date of release: Retained		Classification: Temporarily retained by Department
PREM19/2477	Science and Technology (Maintaining the strength of the science base: the science budget; national priorities for science and technology) (Part 5)	Begins: 1986 Nov 14	Ends: 1987 Aug 13	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 200
PREM19/2478	Science and Technology (Maintaining the strength of the science base: the science budget; national priorities for science and technology) (Part 6)	Begins: 1987 Sep 7	Ends: 1987 Dec 31	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 265
PREM19/2479	Science and Technology (Maintaining the strength of the science base: the science budget; national priorities for science and technology) (Part 7)	Begins: 1988 Jan 12	Ends: 1988 Jan 29	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Confidential	Pages: 302
PREM19/2480	Science and Technology (Prime Minister's reception for industrial designers, January 1987)	Begins: 1986 Jan 7	Ends: 1987 Feb 9	Date of release: 2016 Jul 21		Classification: Unclassified	Pages: 87
PREM19/2481	Scotland (Regional policy: industrial policy; draft White Paper on Scottish Enterprise) (Part 1)	Begins: 1979 Nov 25	Ends: 1988 Nov 30	Date of release: 2016 Nov 7		Classification: Secret	Pages: 405

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