Now confidential government files from spring 1982 reveal how
the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher stood four square with
her troops in the diplomatic battles behind the scenes. They
detail how the Iron Lady held firm against American president
Ronald Reagan when he urged her to go soft on the enemy. She is
also seen at her fighting best, demanding that France, another
ally, postpone the sale of missiles which were certain to be
used against our troops. The dossiers, published under the
30-year rule at the National Archives in Kew, South-west London,
also give a glimpse of her heartache at the 10-week conflict.
But her determination to show as much grit as the British Task
Force was evident in a heated late-night telephone call with Mr
Reagan, her friend and ally. He had telephoned No 10 Downing
Street on May 31, as the battle for the Falklands capital Port
Stanley was starting and the war had two weeks to run. A memo
recording their conversation says: “President Reagan said the US
considered it imperati