Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote an emotional letter to U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1982 Falklands War calling him the “only person” who could understand her position, formerly secret documents showed on Friday.

Newly declassified files from 1982 lift the lid on contacts between the two leaders over the crisis and reveal the extent of the pressure Thatcher felt she was under when Argentina invaded the remote South Atlantic archipelago to reclaim what it said was its sovereign territory, triggering a 10-week war.

“I am writing to you separately because I think you are the only person who will understand the significance of what I am trying to say,” Thatcher told Reagan in one letter, saying the principles of democracy, liberty and justice were at stake.

Britain held its breath when Thatcher dispatched a naval task force to the British-ruled Falkland islands following the Argentine invasion. Despite losing several warships, the British eventually reclaimed the South Atlantic islands 74 days later. Some 649 Argentines and 255 British troops were killed.

Elsewhere, the files show that Thatcher stressed the special relationship between the two countries as she requested Reagan’s help in a letter signed off with “Warm personal regards, Margaret”.

“I also believe that the friendship between the United States and Britain matters very much to the future of the free world,” she wrote.

The files provide a unique perspective on the first and only female British prime minister’s personal feelings as she waged war against Argentina, contemporary records specialist Simon Demissie told Reuters.

“You really hear how personally strained she was, how surprised she was. Her voice really comes through – her sense of shock that she would have to send forces to the other side of the world,” Demissie said.

“We get a sense that she is as decisive as ever and that is something which really appealed to the military officials close to her,” Demissie said in reference to minutes from the War Cabinet meetings ahead of the crisis, which were also released on Friday.

CLANDESTINE HELP

Secret for 30 years, the files reveal Thatcher’s political manoeuvring during other events in 1982, including the Iran-Iraq war, the imposition of military rule in Poland and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

They also show that British attitudes to its U.S. ally were less deferential than the prime minister’s letters to Reagan suggest.

In a transcript of a telephone conversation between Thatcher and her foreign minister, the prime minister criticised Reagan’s communication style, describing a message from the president as “so vague I didn’t think it was worth reading when it came in at half-eleven last night”.

In another file, she noted “the US just does not realise the resentment she is causing in the Middle East”, while a Foreign Office briefing on Reagan described the actor-turned-politician as “knowing much less than he seems to”.

However, one document showed how deeply indebted British officials felt to the United States for its “clandestine help” during the Falklands war; help that the United States was anxious be kept secret.

“The US have made it clear that they do not wish to reveal publicly the extent of the help with which they are providing us. They are very much worried about the effects on their relations with South America. We must accept this as a fact of life,” a Ministry of Defence letter said.

The United States assisted Britain with intelligence and communications facilities as well as with military equipment such as munitions, the document said, confirming information already in the public domain.

Emblazoned with the words SECRET and CONFIDENTIAL, many of the 6,000 declassified files will prove a treasure trove for history students keen on ferreting out hitherto unknown details of the major political events of 1982, said records specialist Demissie.

“Everything comes out in the end,” he said.

28 December 2012 Last updated at 04:18

Margaret Thatcher paid for missing son desert search

The never-seen archives reveal Margaret Thatcher’s concern for her missing son Mark

Margaret Thatcher insisted on spending almost £2,000 on a desert search to find her missing son, rather than using public cash, newly-released files show.

Mark Thatcher went missing in the Sahara for six days in January 1982, after breaking down with two team-mates during the Paris-Dakar rally.

They were found by the Algerian military following a search involving four countries, planes and helicopters.

Mark’s father, Denis Thatcher, flew to Algeria to help with the operation.

The documents – released for the first time to the National Archives in Kew, west London – reveal how the former prime minister paid £1,784.80 towards the search in order to avoid a public backlash over the use of taxpayers’ money.

Her 29-year-old son spent six days lost with his French co-driver, Anne-Charlotte Verney, and their mechanic – known only as Jackie.

They were eventually spotted from the air and rescued by an Algerian military aircraft on 14 January. The trio were running short of food, but still had plenty of drinking water.

‘Drinks to all’

But amid the relief, Mr Thatcher’s rescue prompted private discussions between Number 10 and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about whether the cost of the search should be covered by the public purse – a matter MPs and journalists were keen to pursue.

According to the archives, a letter calling for details of the figures was sent to the Foreign Office on 29 January so questions could be answered. Lists of hotel and phone bills, telegrams, air fares and subsistence expenses were promptly drawn up.

The files show one bill from the Tahat Hotel in Tamanrasset – for a group including Mark and Denis Thatcher and Ms Verney – exceeded 11,500 Algerian dinars, a third of which was made up by the cost of drinks.

However, the party was later told the bill had been waived and there was nothing to pay.

In a telegram to the Foreign Office, one official reported this fee had almost certainly included “the liberal dispensation of drinks to all and sundry after Mark Thatcher’s arrival at hotel”.

An Foreign Office statement detailing the total cost of the search includes air fares, subsistence, telegrams and phone calls at various embassies, and accommodation for a Swiss rally team that helped by providing information on Mr Thatcher’s possible location.

The Algerian government picked up the majority of the bill, leaving a final bill of £583.14 for Mr Thatcher and £1,190.95 remaining to be paid with public money.

Private secretary John Coles said there had been a “number of inquiries from the public and one or two from MPs” over the cost, but said that Mr Thatcher’s contribution of £583.14 would mean these questions could be dealt with in an “entirely reasonable and justifiable way”.

However, a prime ministerial memo on 12 February reveals Mrs Thatcher decided to cover the extra cost herself.

Mr Coles wrote: “In addition, there is the total cost to the taxpayer of £1,191. I think you wanted to consider the latter figure.”

In a handwritten note, Mrs Thatcher insisted: “I must pay the £1,191. We can therefore say that no extra cost has fallen on the British taxpayer. To who do I make out the cheque? MT.”

Mrs Thatcher later paid a final bill for £1,784.80 – after the totals were slightly amended.

‘Most concerned’

The documents show that, several months later on 2 September, Mrs Thatcher received a letter asking for a further £15.16 for the landing charges of an aircraft used by her husband Denis Thatcher – which she paid by cheque to the FCO four days later.

The letter to Mr Coles read: “In the light of the prime minister’s wish that no charge should be made to public funds, we assume that she would wish to meet this bill herself.”

The archives also detail the “Iron Lady’s” fear for her missing son.

In a telegram dated 12 January, Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington wrote: “The prime minister is now most concerned, since there has been no reliable information for three days.”

Mrs Thatcher also spoke to then US president, Ronald Reagan, on 14 January – within minutes of a sighting of her son.

According to the files, Mr Reagan told her: “I was calling you to tell you that Nancy and I feel so deeply – you are in our thoughts and prayers, you and Denis – about Mark.”

The prime minister responded: “It’s been a long time, and we’ve had a lot of confused rumours and reports but Denis is out there now, and the Algerians have mounted a very big search today, and we just believe – I’ve just had news two minutes ago that they believe they’ve made a hopeful sighting.

“We daren’t believe anything till they’ve actually found him.”

Mr Reagan then promised to pray for Mark, saying: “I know that he’s an experienced outdoorsman, so I know that he’ll be able to take care of himself.”

Jimmy Savile met Margaret Thatcher several times to get support for his Stoke Mandeville Hospital appeal, newly released government papers show.

In letters they exchanged, released by the National Archives, Savile tells Mrs Thatcher that the patients at the hospital love her – and he does too.

The government eventually gave £500,000 to the Buckinghamshire hospital.

The papers also show Savile approached Mrs Thatcher about tax relief on charitable donations.

The now-disgraced TV and radio presenter, who died last year aged 84, approached Mrs Thatcher at a Downing Street event on 6 February 1980, while he was heading the £10m Stoke Mandeville appeal.

At the Number 10 meeting – a presentation ceremony for the children’s charity the NSPCC – Savile asked the then-prime minister how he might “pursue the question of tax deduction for charitable donations”, the papers show.

The charitable covenant rules at the time meant a donor would have to commit to give to a charity for seven years for their donations to be eligible for tax relief.

The documents show Mrs Thatcher thought the so-called “seven-year rule” was a disincentive to charitable giving, “and that three years might be a more reasonable period”.

In a letter to the prime minister a week later, Savile says he waited before thanking her for the “lunch invitation” because he did not want to be “too effusive”.

He goes on: “My girl patients pretended to be madly jealous and wanted to know what you wore and what you ate.

“All the paralysed lads called me ‘Sir James’ all week.”

Correspondence between Number 10 and government departments including the Treasury show that changes to the rules on charitable donations were already being considered.

According to a letter from the private secretary at the Treasury to Number 10 dated 21 February 1980, the time period for charitable covenants was to be relaxed from seven years to four – and the measure would be announced in that year’s Budget.

Inland Revenue

However, Mrs Thatcher was advised that as this was a “Budget secret”, she could not “even hint at this to Jimmy Savile at present”.

In a letter to Savile, dated 25 February 1980 and addressed “Dear Jimmy”, Mrs Thatcher said: “I am interested in the subject myself and I am now looking into it.

“Please leave it with me and I will write to you about it again within a few weeks. It is quite a complicated subject and I am sorry that I cannot give you any instant answer.”

Further correspondence between the Inland Revenue and Number 10 includes a suggested letter Mrs Thatcher should write to Savile after the changes to charitable covenants were announced by the then-Chancellor Geoffrey Howe in his April 1980 Budget.

While the Inland Revenue draft states the changes to tax relief had been examined “a little time ago”, this is not mentioned in Mrs Thatcher’s actual letter to Savile.

Then-Social Security Secretary Norman Fowler agreed on a £500,000 donation to the Savile-fronted appeal

Other related documents also released by the National Archives show that at a private meeting with Mrs Thatcher in January 1981, Savile raised the possibility of “some government support” as a “goodwill gesture” for the Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit appeal.

While Savile was said to be more concerned “with the token of a contribution than the amount”, documents show the then-Department for Health and Social Security was initially reluctant to commit NHS money to the appeal, preferring a “symbolic gesture”.

The records show Mrs Thatcher and Savile then met for a private lunch on 8 March 1981 and, in a handwritten note to her private secretary at the time, she says she “promised to get government contribution” – although she declined to appear on Jim’ll Fix It, Savile’s top-rating Saturday evening children’s programme on BBC One.

Asked by her officials what “sum of money you envisaged”, in a handwritten note Mrs Thatcher says “will discuss with PJ” – meaning Patrick Jenkin, then health and social security secretary.

Jenkin was replaced as health secretary in the 1981 reshuffle by Norman Fowler. A note dated 30 December 1981, some 11 months after the initial approach from Savile, states: “Mr Fowler has agreed to make available half a million to £1m for the Stoke Mandeville Appeal and he agrees you [Mrs Thatcher] should announce this tomorrow.”

According to the documents, the government decided to make the money available as the International Year of Disabled People was drawing to a close and “to show our interested in the disabled has not ended with the end of IYDP”.

However, Mr Fowler decided that the government would contribute £500,000 as he wanted to donate a similar amount “to other worthy causes” in the coming months.

The letters released under the 30-year rule date back to a time when Savile was best known for being a TV personality and charity fundraiser, whose efforts were rewarded with a knighthood in 1990.

However, it has since been alleged that Savile sexually abused hundreds of girls and young women. An investigation by the Metropolitan Police has said that 450 people have said they were abused by Savile

Reuters and BBC