Thatcher’s ministers defended Tartan Army against hooligan claims

She was styled as a latter-day Hammer of the Scots but it has emerged that Margaret Thatcher’s government embarked on an unlikely defence of the Tartan Army before the 1990 World Cup.

Undercover police officers from the UK were sent to Italy before the tournament, for which England and Scotland had qualified.

The Football Association launched a formal objection after being told to pay for the additional security measures and insisted its Scottish counterpart should also be forced to contribute.

However, ministers said that would be unfair, pointing out that supporters from north of the border had no record of hooliganism or causing disturbances at major tournaments.

Official recognition of a difference between “good natured” Scottish football fans and their volatile English counterparts was recorded