Thatcher: Maggie glad it's over
2005-01-13 15:53
London - Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher on Thursday welcomed a plea bargain which allowed her son, Mark, to escape with a fine and suspended jail term in South Africa after pleading guilty to charges linked to an alleged coup plot.
"This has been a difficult time for all of the family - obviously I am delighted that it has been brought to an end," Lady Thatcher said in a statement released in London.
Sir Mark Thatcher had pleaded guilty in the Cape Town High Court earlier on Thursday to charges stemming from the purchase of a helicopter which turned out to be for the alleged coup plotters in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.
Thatcher, 51, who claimed that he thought he was paying for an air ambulance, was fined R3m (about $500 000) and given a four-year suspended prison term after the plea bargain.
- SAPA