Former British Airways (BA) chairman and ardent Thatcherite Lord King died last night at the age of 87. He passed away peacefully at his estate in Leicestershire.

Lord King was appointed as head of BA in 1981 by former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, with a remit to privatise the state-owned company. He was credited with turning a loss making state-owned company into “the world’s favourite airline”.

Baroness Thatcher led tributes to the business leader, describing him as “an industrial trailblazer”.

Lord King had humble beginnings, leaving school at 14 to work on the shop floor. But in 1941 he married the boss’s daughter. He went on to take over a Yorkshire engineering business.

But his life was not without controversy – he left BA after the company was found guilty of a dirty tricks campaign against Virgin Atlantic.