Free-market ex-UK Treasury chief Nigel Lawson dies

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Nigel Lawson, the tax-cutting U.K. Treasury chief under the late Margaret Thatcher and a lion of Conservative politics in the late 20th century has died. He was 91. Lawson, who led the Treasury from 1983 to 1989, spearheaded the drive to place the public sector into private control.  He also modernized financial markets in what became known as the Big Bang of deregulation, which strengthened London’s position as a global financial hub. Conservative Party politicians have rushed to offer tributes, a reflection of the fact that Lawson’s policies remain revered. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson described him as a “fearless and original flame of free market Conservatism.″