There is a mystery I know full well, which to all, good & bad, I cannot tell….

Stories & tales used to circulate about a legendary, near mythical Despatch Box. Did it really exist? Was it an invention of the febrile imagination of Whips & Civil Servants, meant to keep MP’s & Ministers of State in line. What did it contain?

Jonathan Aitken gives a good eyewitness account of this renowned Despatch Box in his well-reviewed biography of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality. Mr. Aitken writes,

‘OLD STRIPEY & STUBBORNESS

The Red Boxes of official papers sent up to the Prime Minister’s flat by her private office every evening included one of a noticeably different size & colour. It was known as ‘Old Stripey’, because it had a large blue stripe across its lid. Margaret Thatcher always opened this Box first. Only she & her Principal Private Secretary had a key to it. This was because ‘Old Stripey’ contained daily top-secret reports from the intelligence services & other highly sensitive material deemed to be for the eyes only of the Prime Minister.’

Extract by kind permission of Jonathan Aitken