Thatchergate was the colloquial title of a hoax perpetrated by members of the anarcho-punk band Crass during the aftermath of the 1982 Falklands War.
During the course of the tape, Reagan seems to state his intention to use Europe as a battle front to show the Soviet leaders the US's resolve in a nuclear conflict, whilst Thatcher appears to imply that HMS Sheffield was deliberately sacrificed to escalate the Falklands War.
[2] However, coverage of the tape by the UK broadsheet The Observer in January 1984 identified the true source as Crass.
[3] Crass have stated that great care was taken to ensure their anonymity, and that to this day it is a mystery as to how Observer journalists traced the hoax back to them.
[4] In January 2014, official government documents were released to the National Archives revealing the concerns of the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).