Nigel Lawson, who died last week at the age of 91, was one of the big figures in post-war British politics. Yet his political career ended in acrimony and ultimately in failure; by the time he left office, he had fallen out with Margaret Thatcher and was presiding over an inflationary boom that subsequently bore his name. This newspaper, and this journalist, played a part in the end of his time as chancellor of the exchequer, after six and a half years in the post.
On October 6, 1989, a Friday, Lawson announced an increase in interest rates from a very high 14 per cent to 15 per cent, in an attempt to stem inflation and the pressure on the pound. In those days, chancellors
