Hello I'm Kirsty Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1988

and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My cast away this week is a man of influence, a natural member of the British establishment,

his discretion and integrity carried him through the ranks of the Whitehall Civil Service

to become Cabinet Secretary.

In this position his critics might argue that he was the

protector of a faceless bureaucracy, but to Mrs Thatcher he was a loyal lieutenant

steering her government through such crises as G. K.Q, the Ponting Affair, Westland and SpyCatcha.

On his retirement last year, he was awarded a peerage.

He is Lord Armstrong. Lord Armstrong, you were at the Prime Minister's elbow throughout the Thatcher years until this one.

You therefore really in our minds are rather akin to Sir Humphrey and yes minister would we be entirely

wide of the mark in thinking that? Well I think if you're going to look for my

parallel in that quarter you have to look not at Sir Humphrey but at Sir Arnold who was the

Cabinet Secretary in the first series before it became yes Prime Minister

when it was still yes Minister and who retired just at the time when it changed from yes

minister to yes Prime Minister. I have good authority for that because the

producer sent me a copy of the script which was had a manuscript dedication in it

which said to Sir Arnold Robin crossed out Sir Robert Armstrong with good wishes

from the producer so that if you're going to look for parallel I think I have to say it's Sir Arnold

whether that's any better I'm not sure. Let's turn to music because I know that it's

terribly important in your life isn't it's been it's a thread that's run right through my life and has been very important to me throughout.

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