Mark Thatcher documents must be made public now

HE wealth of Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet, has at times been estimated as high as £60 million. Not bad for a boy who left Harrow with three O-levels. How does one amass such a fortune? Hard work, luck and prayer might all play a part. But, more than all of these, who you know can be a terrific advantage.

And if you know the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister is your mother, then the world, as arch-Thatcherite Arthur Daley put it, is your lobster. The fundamental flaw in such a business plan is that the PM cannot get involved in a family member’s commercial affairs. If she did so, her reputation would be irreparably tarnished.

Margaret Thatcher’s period in office was dogged by allegations she oiled the wheels for her racing driver son’s business deals. Most notably, it was claimed he made £12m for helping to broker an arms deal with Saudi Arabia that was signed off by his mother as PM.

There were other interesting deals, and today we learn Downing Street papers relating to significant milestones in Mr Thatcher’s colourful business CV will remain closed until 2053.

In 1984, it was claimed Mrs Thatcher used her influence with Sultan Qaboos of Oman to secure a university building contract for a firm that employed her son as a consultant.

But two files headed “Cementation contract: Mark Thatcher and the Omanis” are being withheld, rather than released under the usual rules for official documents. Another Omani file, plus one titled “Request by Electronic Data Systems to employ Mark Thatcher”, have been marked “temporarily retained”, with no release date.

This can only fuel suspicion about what they contain. The charges outlined above are serious, and the full facts should be known. Important documents gather dust in the darkness. It is time to bring them into the light. History cannot wait till 2053.