John Sergeant, former BBC chief political correspondent, has spoken of the famous incident when he was ’handbagged’ by Margaret Thatcher.

The veteran broadcaster recalled the famous incident when he was waiting outside the British embassy in Paris just days before Mrs Thatcher quit as prime minister.

Out of the blue she emerged unknown to Sergeant who was facing his camera crew, and broadcasting live on the TV news, and encountered him. It became known as the ’handbagging’ incident and one that Mr Sergeant recounted as a defining moment in his career.

Everyone of a certain age remembers that ’golden moment’ for Mr Sergeant.

He was guest speaker at the joint annual Isle of Man Wealth & Financial Services Association (IOMWFSA) and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI) dinner.

He told the packed audience at Woodbourne House, Douglas, that it was not because she hit him with a handbag or was ’roughed up’ by her press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham.

It happened, he said, as Mrs Thatcher and her cohort were coming towards the assembled press pack in Paris in the early stages of the 1990 Tory leadership race.

He said that quite simply they were looking for the stage and the microphone to speak to waiting reporters about the progress of the Tory election race - her main rival being at the time Michael Heseltine.

Mr Sergeant, 74, said Mrs Thatcher just happened to recognise him because of a ’little accident’ on board a plane previously and so latched on to him and used his BBC microphone to speak.

That accident on the plane had happened when he was on the press plane taking Mrs Thatcher to Moscow three years previously in 1987.

He said he was tucking into a meal with wine, she suddenly appeared and came down to his seat. His immediate reaction was to stand up, knocking his tray to the ground.

He told the island audience that Mrs Thatcher offered to get down on her knees and clear the mess up.

Now a freelance broadcaster having previously been on tour in the UK with his one-man show, he delighted the audience with a steady battery of political memories and one-liners.

It was almost Brexit free and there was a humorous introduction from the chairman of the IOMWFSA, Carly Stratton.

On a serious note, Carly said it had been another busy year for the association, and on a positive note, with an increase in membership and the introduction of the monthly Morning Chatter discussion events which has been taken up really well with good attendance by member and non-member firms.

Paul Kneen, Isle of Man president of CISI, said it was a pleasure to host CISI members and their guests to a wonderful evening and thanked all those within the CISI and the IOMWFSA who had helped organise the event.

The joint annual dinner of the IOMWFSA and the CISI was attended by the Chief Minister Howard Quayle, MHKs and business leaders.

Organisers said it was a great success thanks to the organisational skills of the committee, the venue and support from main sponsors The International Stock Exchange, as well as MAC Financial and Ned Bank.

Everything went like clockwork and the guest speaker rattled through his life which has also included being an actor, comedy, dancing in the shape of the BBC Strictly show, and of course politics.

Mr Sergeant also helped with the charity prize draw which raised more than £2,000 which is to be split between two Isle of Man charities, Bowel Cancer Isle of Man and Monitors4Kids.

Together the committee represents an industry-wide voice which will continue to be used to consult with government and regulators for the benefit of the industry.

The Isle of Man Wealth and Fund Services Association thanked everyone that helped out, attended and was part of the annual dinner.

Mr Sergeant,alongside writing and broadcasting, has done a one-man theatre show, flown a Spitfire and has written travel pieces.