WIREDGOV

Three Downing Street visitor books are included in this December’s Cabinet Office file release. The red leather-bound volumes are the first ever released by the Government and provide a fascinating insight into eminent visitors passing through the doors of Number 10 between 1970-2003.

The late Queen, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and her husband Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, signed the books on several occasions, as did their son, the King, and other members of the Royal family.

Many other heads of state also left their signatures, some with personal messages. On 10 July 1996, six years after his release from prison, South African president Nelson Mandela wrote: “Visiting Downing Street, No 10, is always an unforgettable experience.”

Other world leaders who signed included Ronald Reagan, Benazir Bhutto, Mary Robinson, Idi Amin, Vaclav Havel and Haile Selassie.

The visitor books are among 328 Cabinet Office documents released recently under the 20-year rule. Most are correspondence and work on government policies during Tony Blair’s Labour administration 2003-2004.

They cover a wide range of subject matter including climate change, counterterrorism, organised crime, Ofsted inspections, foot-and-mouth disease and GM food.

Of these files, The National Archives has digitised more than 140 which are available to download and view below. The rest of the files are available to order and read at The National Archives in Kew.

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