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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Brown welcomes Thatcher to No 10 | Brown welcomes Thatcher to No 10 |
| (40 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 many by praising Labour's long-time political foe 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". |
| The Tories said they were "relaxed" about the meeting, pointing out that she had previously met Tony Blair. | |
| 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. |
| Saatchi and Saatchi | Saatchi and Saatchi |
| The two were believed to be meeting in the formal study - the Thatcher Room - as well as taking a tour of the building where prime ministers live as well as work when in power. | |
| She has an immense respect for the office of prime minister and if the prime minister invites you to come to tea - you don't say no John Whittingdale MPFormer private secretary to Lady Thatcher Saatchis land Labour ad 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. | 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. |
| Downing Street sources said one of Mr Brown's "biggest and earliest political memories" after becoming an MP was an invitation for him to visit the then prime minister in her Commons office in 1983 to discuss a speech he had made. | |
| 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. | 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. | 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. |
| 'Nice gesture' | |
| But Lady Thatcher's former private secretary, the Conservative MP John Whittingdale, said she would have been touched by the invitation and said it was a "nice gesture" by Mr Brown. | |
| He said it would have been "unthinkable" for her to turn down an invitation from the prime minister adding: "She has an immense respect for the office of prime minister and if the prime minister invites you to come to tea - you don't say no." | |
| He added that he knew Lady Thatcher and Mr Cameron "see each other occasionally". | |
| A Conservative spokesman said they were "relaxed" about the meeting, adding: "She met, as a former prime minister, with Tony Blair. Now she's meeting Gordon Brown." | |
| Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said he hoped Mr Brown would be able "to learn a thing or two from a very successful Conservative prime minister". |