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Brown welcomes Thatcher to No 10 Brown welcomes Thatcher to No 10
(30 minutes later)
Former Conservative prime minister Baroness Thatcher is in 10 Downing Street for a meeting with Gordon Brown.Former Conservative prime minister Baroness Thatcher is in 10 Downing Street for a meeting with Gordon Brown.
Lady Thatcher, 81, was greeted with a warm handshake from the prime minister as she arrived outside Number 10.Lady Thatcher, 81, was greeted with a warm handshake from the prime minister as she arrived outside Number 10.
Mr Brown recently surprised some Labour MPs by praising Lady Thatcher as a "conviction politician" who "saw the need for change". Mr Brown recently surprised many by praising Labour's long-time political foe as a "conviction politician" who "saw the need for change".
Mr Brown's wife Sarah is also thought to be at the meeting with Lady Thatcher, who was PM from 1979 to 1990.Mr Brown's wife Sarah is also thought to be at the meeting with Lady Thatcher, who was PM from 1979 to 1990.
The visit follows an exchange of letters between Mr Brown and Lady Thatcher shortly after he became prime minister in June.The visit follows an exchange of letters between Mr Brown and Lady Thatcher shortly after he became prime minister in June.
A formal one-to-one meeting was being held in the formal study - the Thatcher Room - followed by a tour of the building where prime ministers live as well as work when in power. A one-to-one meeting is understood to be taking place in the formal study - the Thatcher Room - followed by a tour of the building where prime ministers live as well as work when in power.
Shortly after Mr Brown's predecessor Tony Blair took power in 1997, he also extended an invitation to Baroness Thatcher. Saatchi and Saatchi
The visit comes on a day that it emerged that the advertising agency credited with helping secure the 1979 election victory for the then Mrs Thatcher - Saatchi and Saatchi - has been given the Labour general election advertising account. The visit, though rare, is not unprecedented and does not mean that Lady Thatcher is backing Mr Brown as prime minister - shortly after Tony Blair took power in 1997, he also extended an invitation to Baroness Thatcher.
Mr Brown has recently been accused of "deeply cynical manoeuvring" by Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind - over his invitations to Tory and Lib Dem MPs to become advisers on certain issues. BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Brown also remembered her invitation to him to visit Number 10 shortly after he was elected to Parliament in 1983.
The visit comes on the day it emerged that the advertising agency credited with helping secure the 1979 election victory for the then Mrs Thatcher - Saatchi and Saatchi - has been given the Labour general election advertising account.
Mr Brown's comments last week praising Lady Thatcher were taken as him suggesting that he - and not current Tory leader David Cameron - was a conviction politician like her.