Welcome to UK Confidential, the Radio 4 programme that reveals the truth behind the headlines of previously secret government files. Published on January 1, 2005.

ukconfidential: Welcome

Martha Kearney reviews the release of secret government files from the mid 1980s - the time of the Westland affair, Spycatcher trial, Lebanon hostage crisis and fear of AIDS. Published on January 9, 2015.

ukconfidential: 1985

Martha Kearney uncovers the secrets within the government files of 1983 - who said what in Cabinet, and what did the Prime Minister really think about the issues of the day?

It was the year that Compact Discs and £1 coins were first sold in Britain. The country was introduced to the joys of wheel clamps and breakfast television, and Shergar - the most valuable racehorse in the world - was stolen, never to be seen again.

It was an election year, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was riding high on the Falklands victory of the year before. Peace campaigners were demonstrating outside Greenham Common as the American nuclear missiles arrived, and Britain entered talks with China over the future of Hong Kong.

As the official Cabinet papers of 1983 are opened to the public for the first time, Martha Kearney discovers what the big stories were inside Government that year. With access to the Prime Minister's personal correspondence, minutes of top secret meetings and telephone calls, and confidential policy advice, Martha can now offer fresh insights into history.

There are the secret messages between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, the Prime Minister's highly colourful comments on points of view she disagreed with, and entertaining messages between staff at Number 10. Martha is joined by key insiders from the time to help her interpret the papers and give their own impressions of the revelations within them.



Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4. Published on August 1, 2013.

1983

Martha Kearney reviews today's release of secret government files from the mid 1980s.

The year long miners' strike came to an end in 1985, but social unrest continued with riots in London leaving a policeman dead in Tottenham. Football hooliganism burgeoned, resulting in horrific scenes at the European Cup Final in Heysel when 39 people died during violent riots before the Liverpool/Juventus match.

Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader and Oleg Gordievsky was one of a number of high profile Russian defectors to Britain. As nuclear arms talks between the Soviet Union and the United States made a tentative start, a catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine released radioactive particles over much of the Western USSR.

A row in Cabinet over the future of Westland helicopters resulted in Michael Heseltine's resignation as Defence Secretary in early 1986. A Cabinet Committee considered government policy on AIDS for the first time, and several Whitehall departments collaborated to develop what became the 'Poll Tax'.

As the official Cabinet papers of the mid-80s are opened to the public for the first time, Martha Kearney discovers how these events were viewed in Government. With access to the Prime Minister's personal correspondence, minutes of top secret meetings and telephone calls, and confidential policy advice, UK Confidential offers fresh insights into history.

Martha is joined in the studio by key political players from the time - Defence Secretary Lord (Michael) Heseltine, Shadow Chancellor Lord (Roy) Hattersley, Margaret Thatcher's private secretary Lord (Charles) Powell, and Channel 4 Political Correspondent Elinor Goodman.


Produced by Deborah Dudgeon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4. Published on December 30, 2014.

30/12/2014

As previously secret government files are released to the public, former government ministers reveal the truth behind the headlines. With presenters Martha Kearney & Sue McGregor.

UK Confidential

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