Hello, I'm Krestey 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 1991, and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My castaway this week is a captain of industry, always attracted by what he describes as the romance of power,

he left school with few qualifications and while still a young man set up a ball-bearing company.

From this he made a personal fortune and a public reputation.

Shoured with appointments and directorships, including the chairmanship of the National

Enterprise Board, he was eventually asked to take over Britain's national airline.

This is the job he's done for the last 10 years, rising every day at 5 a.m. to lead his work force

from debt through privatization and into profit. A fearless

huntsman who enjoys crying tally-ho in the cause of capitalism, he is the chairman

of British Airways Lord King

Fearless heedless of danger when out hunting those are the sorts of phrases that your friends use about you Lord King is is that a fair description do you think

Well, no, I don't think it's quite fair because unless you're a bit frightened, I don't think that you can do very much.

But do you feel brave? I mean, Lord Hanson says, and we're still in the punting field at the moment

Lord Hanson says you're the bravest huntsman he ever saw. Well he's a very

polished horseman himself and it's a great compliment if he says that. I

really couldn't comment on whether I'm brave

or not, sometimes I'm not. But would you ever stop and think and go and look for an

easy way around instead of taking the big fence? I think that's what we're really

asking.

Yeah, there are times when you could say, well that would be sheer folly.

Now there is a difference between wanting to do something well and being foolish.

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