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Advisers warned Thatcher of free-for-all bubble
Top official warned that deregulation could spell disaster
Boneheaded ex-PM Margaret Thatcher’s most senior official warned 29 years ago that her City free-for-all could mean a future financial collapse, newly released government papers revealed yesterday.
The notorious Tory ignored the accurate predictions of Cabinet secretary Sir Robert Armstrong and went ahead with her “Big Bang” that saw stock exchange regulations torn up in 1986.
In a private memorandum he set out a string of concerns months before she tore up City rules — an act linked directly to the 2008 collapse of the banking system.
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