The annual release of secret papers from the National Archive reveals Mrs Thatcher’s scornful response to a plan to put the precocious young Tory in the Treasury

Likes of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel helped to drive the over-45s to the cinema

The former newspaper tycoon Eddy Shah was found not guilty torday of raping an underage schoolgirl at a string of London hotels.

As head of contracts and copyright at Central Independent Television, which became ITV's Midlands franchise holder in the 1980s, Rupert Dilnott-Cooper was given some of his biggest challenges by the producers of the satirical puppet series Spitting Image. His job was to protect Central from legal action, but he regarded the show as fun and always tried to find a way to ensure that its biting humour reached the screen.

Our man in Westminster

Mandela’s daughter said there is a racist element to the way her father’s health is being covered - so at the very least people should listen

What really annoys MPs is that the executives at Ipsa who control their salary are so much better paid

Makaziwe Mandela says interest in former president's condition has 'gone overboard' and media are 'vultures waiting for the carcass'

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union, has been admitted to the Kremlin hospital in Moscow for tests, amid growing concern over his health.

TIMELINE

Comedian Eddie Izzard has said he is prepared to take the flak for wanting to pursue a career in politics.

Was this shock bigger than Wimbledon in 1988? Was it the biggest since Sunderland in 1973? These were the questions being asked here last night, but it was another FA Cup final that came to mind while watching Callum McManaman tear Manchester City apart.

The move piles further pressure on David Cameron over the EU issue

A wry autobiography, set in 1980s Scotland, reveals an admirably balanced attitude to Maggie, memoir, and the wisdom of Granny Mac