London -
Preparations began on Tuesday for the funeral of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, whose death highlighted deep divisions over her legacy.
Thatcher is to be given a ceremonial funeral with full military honours - like that of the Princess Diana - at St Paul's Cathedral in London next week, though the date has not yet been confirmed.
Some of her supporters have argued she should be given a state funeral like World War II premier Winston Churchill. She had rejected that idea and thought a fly-past would be a waste of money.
Her body was removed from the Ritz hotel, where she had been recovering from a minor operation since Christmas, in the early hours of Tuesday. She died following a stroke on Monday, at the age of 87.
In the media she was praised by some as having “saved Britain”, while other commentators said she left the country “bruised and bloodied.”
The broadsheet Daily Telegraph wrote: “If Britain is still Great, it is because of this greatest of Britons.” The populist Daily Mail wrote that she had “restored the primacy of individual opportunity to a nation crippled by the burdens of state collectivism.”
The left-wing Daily Mirror called her premiership “disastrous”, adding: “Margaret Thatcher broke Britain and replaced what had come before with something crueller, nastier.”
The Guardian said: “There should be no dancing on her grave but it is right there is no state funeral either. Her legacy is of public division, private selfishness and a cult of greed, which together shackle far more of the human spirit than they ever set free.”
Hundreds attended parties in George Square in the Scottish city of Glasgow, and the London suburb of Brixton late on Monday.
In Glasgow, scene of fierce protests against Thatcher's poll tax in 1989, anti-capitalist campaigners shouted “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie” over loudspeakers and the crowd responded “dead, dead, dead.”
Crowds in Brixton, famous for the riots which took place there in 1981, held up banners reading “The Bitch is Dead” and “Rejoice, Thatcher is dead.”
Parliament is being especially recalled on Wednesday to allow lawmakers to give tributes to her, though it is expected that a serious debate about her legacy will also ensue. - Sapa-dpa