17/04/2013

Thousands Line Streets For Baroness Thatcher Funeral

More than 2,000 dignitaries from around the world have attended the funeral of Baroness Thatcher at St Paul’s Cathedral.

The Queen has led mourners as they paid their last respects at the biggest such occasion since the Queen Mother's funeral in 2002.

Mourners and members of the armed forces lined the streets as Lady Thatcher's coffin was carried through streets, in what David Cameron described as a "fitting tribute" to a major figure.

Some four thousand police officers are on duty in central London. There were reports of some protests but not the large demonstrations predicted by some.

"After the storm of a life led in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm," said The Right Reverend Chartres, the Bishop of London.

"The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an ism.

"Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service.

"Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings."

(H/CD)


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