6/16/2023 0 Comments British parliamentary papers qwikiGeorge Osborne, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, holding the budget box to announce the 2014 budget Between 20, the British government spent £57,260 on new boxes. Another box made in 2021 by Aldridge's cost £1100. It is not known whether a blue box is in use today. William Hague, while Leader of the Opposition, had a blue box made for him with lettering denoting his office. Barrow Hepburn and Gale have also made available despatch boxes in green for members of parliament. These have exactly the same function as the ministerial red boxes. Permanent secretaries, who are civil servants rather than MPs or Lords, have similar boxes but coloured green. This box is known as "Old Stripey" due to the red stripe. A blue box with a red stripe is used specifically for confidential papers only seen by the prime minister, their private secretary, and intelligence officials. Today, although 'red box' has now come to be synonymous with the despatch boxes, other colours are also used, to denote the many different functions of the boxes in Parliament.īlack is used for those boxes prepared for government whips and for discretion when boxes are designed for travel. However, it is also claimed that the practice began in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I's representative, Francis Throckmorton, presented the Spanish ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, with a specially-constructed red briefcase filled with black puddings. One is that Prince Albert preferred the colour because it was the predominant one on the arms of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Two reasons have been given for the use of red as the predominant colour of the despatch boxes used in government. That also ensures the box is locked before being carried. Another unique feature of the boxes is the location of the handle on the hinge side, opposite of the lock, so that when placed on a desk, the lock faces the recipient, who has the key and the authority to access the contents of the box. Each is also given a unique number to aid identification and control of the contents. Each box is embossed in gold print with the royal cypher of the reigning monarch, the title of the owner and recipient of the red box, with the recipient's title given precedence. They are wrapped in leather and employ a bespoke print, which is applied after curing and staining. The lead lining, which has been retained in modern boxes, was once meant to ensure that the box sank when thrown overboard in the event of capture. The 2–3-kilogram (4–7 lb) boxes are constructed of slow-grown pine, lined with lead and black satin. The boxes are manufactured by Barrow Hepburn & Gale or Wickwar & Co to the original Wickwar design. Bush received one such box from Tony Blair. Red boxes are often gifted to the outgoing President of the United States as a symbol of the relationship between the US and UK governments. Winston Churchill's red box (manufactured by Wickwar) was sold by Sotheby's in 2014 for £158,500, 25 times the estimated price. Margaret Thatcher's ministerial dispatch box was sold at auction by Christie's in 2015 for £242,500. Those boxes represent some of the most important possessions of former prime ministers. Many boxes owned and used by famous political figures from British history have been sold at auction. The boxes are used by ministers on a daily basis while in government and thus become an important memory of their time in office, with many opting to buy and keep their red boxes. In practice ministers use despatch boxes for transporting the majority of their documents due to the greater level of security they offer. However, a travel version of the box is also available in black, which offers the same level of security as a red box, but is designed to be less conspicuous. For information with a higher security level (such as 'Secret') they are required to use dispatch boxes, which offer greater security, and which are usually red. Ministers are permitted to use ordinary lockable briefcases to transport information which has been classified 'Confidential' or below. Budget box of William Gladstone, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer between 18
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