News about Margaret Thatcher

Norman, Lord Fowler was Health Secretary from 1981-87, during Margaret Thatcher's premiership, and famously approved a series of hard-hitting adverts about the dangers of Aids. A Conservative MP for 31 years, he went on to serve as party chairman from 1992-94, and Lord Speaker of the upper house from 2016-21. After graduating from Cambridge he worked as a journalist on the Oxford Mail, then The Times before becoming an MP. In the 2000s he toured Africa with Ken Clarke and Leon Brittan. Father-of-three Fowler, 86, who has just published his diaries, and his second wife Fiona divide their time between London and the Isle of Wight.

Soviet traitor and Cambridge Five spy Anthony Blunt may have also passed secrets to the Nazis that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Allied troops, a new book has claimed. Blunt, who died aged 75 in 1983, privately confessed to being a Soviet spy in 1964 and was publicly exposed 15 years later. Now in a bombshell book, titled The Traitor of Arnhem, the British art historian has been accused of being the most likely candidate to be 'Josephine', who provided crucial details of an Allied operation to the Germans, and whose identity has never been revealed. Halting the infamous Operation Garden Market - an Allied military operation that aimed to outflank the German defences along the Rhine and allow a swift advance into the heart of Germany -  would have been attractive to the Russians as Stalin did not want the American and British troops to land in Berlin while his army was still in action on the eastern front. Tyrant Stalin had plans to take over Eastern Europe.

It was the outfit in which she famously depicted the late Margaret Thatcher in finale season of The Crown. And now fans of the Netflix drama can bid for it after Gillian Anderson put it up for auction, along with the green dress that Emma Corrin wore while portraying Princess Diana to raise money for the War Child charity. Celebrities have come forward to share some of their most loved items, which also include the original script from 2003 rom com, Love Actually which was donated by creator Richard Curtis.

Words often fail my opponents, as they tend not to have much in the way of arguments. So in recent years, as I battle for facts and logic on anti-social media, my critics have taken to calling me 'old' in the hope of damaging me. A variation on this is to call me a 'Boomer', the American expression for those such as me born in the great Baby Bulge after World War Two (I was born in October 1951). They do this as if it were a brilliant point. They seem to think that because I am old, therefore I am stupid. They are not at all embarrassed about this, as they would be about equally open prejudice on the grounds of race or sex. My first response to this strange, rather stupid rudeness was to say to myself: 'Old? Me?'

Labour's under-pressure deputy leader made the remark as she kicked off Deputy Prime Ministers Questions in the Commons this afternoon. It came as her Tory opposite number Oliver Dowden accused Labour of wanting to 'repeal every single Conservative trade union law' within 100 days of winning the next election, paving the way for 'French-style wildcat strikes.' She responded to the claim by saying:  We have had more strikes under this Government's watch than at any time before.' Ms Rayner's bare statement is true, but it does not tell the whole story.

The former MP (outside Parliament in 1995), who has died from cancer aged 81, was long an admirer of Margaret Thatcher and even called her 'Mrs T'. He helped to persuade the three-time election winner to resign as prime minister in November 1990 amid intense pressure from her MPs and ministers. Lord Field later described how he told Mrs Thatcher (right with husband Denis making her final statement as PM as she left Downing Street) that she was 'finished', adding that he was 'sickened' by MPs who 'hated her'. The politician, who was ennobled in 2020,  first became an MP in 1979, at a general election which saw Mrs Thatcher sweep to victory and become prime minister.

With its L-shaped lawn and rose beds commissioned by Margaret Thatcher (inset), the garden at Number 10 Downing Street has played host to some historic moments. In recent years, they have ranged from David Cameron's love-in with Nick Clegg in 2010 (top right) to Dominic Cummings' defiance (bottom right) after his lockdown drive to Durham. Now, ordinary Britons have the chance to tour the historic garden, which dates in its current form back to 1736.The tour is being run as part of the London Open Gardens weekend, during which more than 100 normally private gardens will open their doors. During the Second World War, prime minister Winston Churchill (left) had brief moments of respite in the garden as Britain fought against Nazi Germany.

With Amazon apparently suffering a crisis of confidence over the Emily Maitlis-inspired three-parter about the Duke of York's (pictured) car-crash interview, is Andrew cowering behind the sofa in anticipation of his name being dragged through the mud again? Not a bit of it. A source claims that he really doesn't see what the fuss is about, remaining the only person who still thinks the interview went well, and insisting he had a message to impart and delivered as rehearsed. The source thinks his insouciance only makes sense because he believes he has done nothing wrong. Meanwhile, producers of A Very Royal Scandal fear that the Netflix film, comprehensively scooping Amazon, has satiated interest in the banished duke.

WPC Fletcher (inset, top right after being shot) was shot outside what was then the Libyan embassy in London 40 years ago today, leading to an 10-day siege. The policewoman, 25, was one of 50 officers policing a protest against Colonel Gaddafi's regime when she was hit by a burst of gunfire from a first-floor window of the embassy. This morning, retired officers gathered in St James's Square, Westminster, for a memorial service close to the site where WPC Fletcher fell. Many (bottom right) held a picture of the smiling police officer as they gathered for the emotional service. Beforehand, Sir Mark laid a wreath at the dedicated memorial for the officer (left). The commemoration came as WPC Fletcher's former colleague and close friend John Murray (inset), now 68, said he is to bring a private prosecution against one of the men suspected of being responsible for her death.

'At the end of the day, working - it's not worth it for me,' says 38-year-old James. 'I get my housing costs paid for and I get £1,300 a month. To be honest, I'm better off not working.' Such conversations provide an alarming insight into the epidemic of worklessness that has swept Britain in recent years, hindering economic growth, pushing up welfare bills, making it hard for employers to fill vacancies and throwing millions of people on the economic scrapheap. It is a disastrous waste of talent and human capital - and the crisis is becoming worse. In 1979, the Conservatives won a famous election victory under Margaret Thatcher, helped by an award-winning advertising campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi that featured billboard posters with an image of a snaking dole queue, accompanied by the slogan, 'Labour Isn't Working'. Today, 45 years later, it could be said that after 14 years of Tory rule, 'Britain isn't working'.

Despite a 70-year reign of consummate duty, it turns out that the late Queen Elizabeth loved a good old mishap - to add some variety to the royal routine. That's according to no less an authority than Her Majesty's former aide, Samantha Cohen, who was interviewed recently for an Australian newspaper. 'The Queen had no ego, she was comfortable in herself, yet she loved it when things went wrong,' she explained to Melbourne-based Herald Sun. 'If a cake was not cutting or a plaque didn't unveil, because everything was so organised, it spiced her life up,' said Ms Cohen, known by the Queen as Samantha the Panther for her ferocious work ethic. For all that regal decorum, Her Majesty had a sharp sense of humour - devilment, even - and seemed to relish making others laugh, in fact, as these rather surprising video clips make clear…

The heroic founder of the Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society, Dinah Johnson, fears that the Royal Mail 's proposal to reduce delivery days to two or three a week will spell the end of the letter. 'This is how you get to the death of letter-writing. I didn't think when I set up the society that there would be a scenario where the service is threatened, but it is.' So just how well do you know your letters? Take the test and find out...

Richard Lee, whose two-year-old daughter Katrice vanished more than 40 years ago in Paderborn, West Germany, will hand back his Army medals in protest over how the case was handled. Katrice Lee was celebrating her second birthday on November 28, 1981, when she disappeared from a supermarket close to the British military base where Mr Lee was stationed as a sergeant major in the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars of the British Army. Mr Lee is now planning to march to Downing Street on 31 May, joined by other veterans, where he will return two of the medals he notched up over 34 years of distinguished service.

Taking place on May 2, the elections will see 11 candidates fight it out for the most powerful Mayoral role in the country. After announcing it is time to 'take the trash out' , the fancy-dressed man has told the BBC he is 'gunning for a champions league spot' this year after finishing ninth in the 2021 election. Binface has said he is the 'only fresh thing on the menu given all other politicians are rubbish'. Now, in a post on X, the candidate has said in his manifesto that he wants to 'build at least one affordable house' and demolish the Millennium Dome to make way for a nature reserve.

JONATHAN McEVOY: It flashed across the International Olympic Committee's skyline like a bolt from the blue on Wednesday morning. And so 128 years of Olympic tradition vanished with news that World Athletics would pay athletes for winning gold medals at this year's Paris Games, and beyond. Starting in the summer, victorious track and field competitors in each of the 48 disciplines will walk away with $50,000 (nearly £40,000). World Athletics have further committed to extend cash prizes to silver and bronze medallists in Los Angeles in 2028. IOC president Thomas Bach, a German gold-medal winning foil fencer from the financially ruinous Montreal Olympics of 1976, an event that stacked up $1.5billion debts through corruption and mismanagement that took the Quebec city 30 years to settle, was blindsided. 

Rishi Sunak today warned that voting for Reform UK would only help put Labour 's Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street as he was confronted by a disgruntled former Tory. The Prime Minister stressed that only 'one of two people' would be in No10 after the general election - either him or the Labour leader. There is growing panic in Conservative ranks about the rising popularity of Reform, with fears the insurgent party will split the right-wing vote at the election and prompt a Tory wipeout. A new poll this week showed the Nigel Farage-backed outfit are now only six points behind the Conservatives after surging to their highest vote share. Mr Sunak was challenged directly about the threat posed to Tory fortunes by Reform when he was quizzed on a radio phone-in show this morning by a voter called Jerry, from Whitley Bay in the North East. He told Mr Sunak he had voted for the Conservatives ever since 1979, the year that Margaret Thatcher became PM, but had now switched to Reform due to his unhappiness with the Government's handling of Net Zero and immigration.

The Grantham Museum in Lincolnshire has rejected calls to be renamed after the late former prime minister. Cllr Ashley Baxter, an independent on South Kesteven District Council, called for for the renaming of the museum which holds one of Margaret Thatcher's handbags and her Spitting Image puppet among its exhibits. The museum rejected the call, saying it exists to promote 'all of Grantham' and not just Britain's first female prime minister.

MAIL COMMENT: In the years after she purchased her council house (at a discount) under Margaret Thatcher's 'right to buy' rules, there is now irrefutable evidence from Angela Rayner's own social media account of where she was actually living and what she called "home" in the years after she purchased her council house (at a discount) under Margaret Thatcher's 'right to buy' legislation. Our inquiry has confirmed the original allegations about the Labour deputy Leader's complicated land deals. The question of when she lived in her house and whether she did not, and if she was liable for capital gains tax should now be dismissed. What we've been hearing for 43 days has been confirmed. Ms Rayner, the indignation, has been saying for 43 days, is incorrect.

Rather than focusing on general financial education, Michael Summersgill claims that the market could be improved by supporting people in making investments rather than focusing on general financial education. As an example, he says, if someone has money in a stock market index such as the FTSE 100, then brokers should alert them if they should switch to a cheaper tracker. Summersgill himself obtained a bachelor's degree in 2005 and became a trainee accountant. He was soon offered two jobs, one at PwC and the other at a 'funny little company called AJ Bell'.

After a week of dominated the boardroom at one of Britain's most polluting water firms, Chris Weston (left) prefers to switch off. At his £4 million Grade II-listed home in the rolling Kentish countryside, he might take a dip in the outdoor heated swimming pool. On other occasions, the former Army officer and avid fly fisherman can be seen casting lines on the banks of the county's trout-filled chalk streams. Anything to distract him from the escalating series of tragedies at Thames Water, which are now facing bankruptcy as a result of a £18 billion debt burden.

For all the portraits, buses, and fine furniture, I have no doubt that it will be the personal stuff that has lingers longest in the public's memory. It is usually the tell-tale signs of family life - a wedding photo, perhaps, or even a trampoline in a ducal garden - which always grab the attention. Balmoral Castle is, above all, a family retreat, as the first busload of tourists arrives for the first time when the King opens its doors to the paying public for the first time. This is without a doubt the country's most famous castle, with its position as the home of our country's longest-serving monarch departed this life for the next (still doing her duties to the end). It has been revived in a number of dramas and films, and it has appeared in several popular memoirs. However, to the Royal Family, it is synonymous with escape, peace, secrecy, and happy memories.

STEPHEN GLOVER: Maybe it was a freak accident. However, it's difficult to believe that a single rogue missile caused the chaos, but that three separate, precisely targeted ones. As the government in Jerusalem has stated, the incident has raised suspicions that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) haven't been as vigilant in attempting to prevent civilian deaths as the government has. 196 humanitarian workers (including the seven on Monday night) have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations' website. Were they also the victims of accidents? Two members of an Al Jazeera media crew died when a fired IDF missile struck their car in January. A video footage of four apparently innocent Palestinian men being killed while walking on wasteland appeared in March.

The Rev J. C. Flannel, the magazine's fictional vicar, will be remembered by readers of Private Eye. He is a worldly, wyffley, wishy-washy fellow. Flannel steers clear of religious convictions. He is the kind of stupid clergyman who likes to blamer about TV soap operas in order to make them relevant. History has surpassed Rev J. C. Flannel's reign. He would be out of place in the modern Church of England. For one thing, he is white and male, which puts him at a disadvantage in certain quarters. More importantly, I'm not sure that Flannel could cope with the 'racial justice' that is so much ingrained on so many Anglican bishops and ­senior clergy.

According to a damning survey, voters no longer see the Tories as the party of defence. According to the Mail's poll, Labour is more trusted than his party on national security and defense. Following years of the military being 'hollowed out,' more people now think the Tories are cutting defense spending rather than raising it. The sad results will shock Downing Street as they are a long cry from a decade ago, when the Tories enjoyed double-digit leads over Labour in polls. According to seven out of ten people, it would become a key battleground in the race, with seven out of ten saying that the parties' position on defense would influence how they vote.