Insufficient UK troops may stall Thatcher's funeral plans

LONDON: The engagement of British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan may jeopardise the government’s plan to honour former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with a State funeral when the ‘Iron Lady’ reaches the end of her days.

Although Lady Thatcher is currently in good health, the ultimate accolade of a State funeral planed for her would be the first to a British PM since Winston Churchill was accorded such an honour in 1965.

“What is in place at the moment is a contingency plan for a state funeral,” The Mail online quoted a senior official involved in the funeral plans as saying.

However, the possibility of a formal procession could be jeopardised by fears that there are insufficient troops available to line the route because the armed forces are so overstretched in Afghanistan and Iraq, the report said.

“Another aspect is that there would usually be a lon procession from Westminster Hall to St Pauls Cathedral which involves the armed forces lining the route and marching through the streets of London,” the official said.