Margaret Thatcher items to be auctioned after V&A 'rejects display offer'

Clothes and jewellery belonging to Margaret Thatcher are to go up for auction after the Victoria & Albert museum turned down the chance to display her outfits to the public, according to reports.

The items which belonged to the late former prime minister are being put up for sale by her family, the Daily Telegraph said.

Proceeds from the sale of more than 300 items by auction house Christie's will be split between Lady Thatcher's children, Sir Mark and Carol, and her grandchildren.

The V&A, which has recently hosted an exhibition of work by fashion designer Alexander McQueen, confirmed the London museum turned down the family's offer.

A V&A spokesman told the paper: "The V&A politely declined the offer of Baroness Thatcher's clothes, feeling that these records of Britain's political history were best suited to another collection which would focus on their intrinsic social historical value.

"The museum is responsible for chronicling fashionable dress and its collecting policy tens to focus on acquiring examples of outstanding aesthetic or technical value."

A spokesman for Christie's told the Telegraph: "The property is being sold on behalf of beneficiaries of Baroness Thatcher's estate as part of the arrangements following her death in 2013."