Baroness Thatcher dies after stroke

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arriving at 10 Downing Street in London after winning the general election Credit: PA/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Baroness Thatcher has died aged 87 following a stroke, it has been announced.

The former prime minister, who had suffered bouts of illness for many years, was said to have died peacefully.

Flowers laid outside the home of Lady Thatcher in Belgravia, London Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher waving to well-wishers after her election win Credit: PA/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Lady Thatcher earned a place in the history books as the first woman prime minister when she entered Downing Street in 1979.

Over the next 11 years even her critics admitted that she changed the face of the country.

In recent years her health deteriorated, and she stopped making public appearances.