Thatcher sorry for missing party

FILE : British Prime Minister David Cameron greets former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street on June 8, 2010 in London, England. Baroness Thatcher served as Prime Minister of the UK from 1979 to 1990.

(June 7, 20102010-06-07 16:00:00 - Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images Europe)

October 15, 2010 (KATAKAMI / THE SCOTSMAN.COM) --- Baroness Thatcher last night sent her apologies to guests after illness forced her to miss a Downing Street reception to mark her 85th birthday.

The former prime minister expressed her disappointment in a message read out to a gathering of 150 friends and colleagues at the event, hosted by David Cameron.

 

But she also made light of the bout of flu that prompted her absence, playing on her famous phrase that the "lady's not for turning".

"After all the trouble that everyone has been to, I am so disappointed not to be with you this evening," Lady Thatcher wrote.

"I want to thank the Prime Minister and everyone present for your understanding.

"I hope that you will appreciate that on this particular occasion I have had to accept that the lady is not for returning. Please, please enjoy yourselves."

Lady Thatcher had insisted the gathering go ahead despite her last-minute withdrawal.

Mr Cameron announced he was hosting the event at the Conservative Party conference last week, when he was cheered by delegates for hailing the peer as "the greatest peacetime prime minister of the 20th century".
He first invited Lady Thatcher to N0 10 soon after he became Prime Minister earlier this year.