Key moments London has shared with Nelson Mandela

Meeting Margaret Thatcher, 1990 - Mr Mandela first met former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in July 1990. Just before that meeting, he had said Britain should start negotiating with the IRA, leaving Mrs Thatcher's Government ruffled. But after meeting,talks between the two leaders ended with Mr Mandela describing the "Ironlady" as "a woman I can do business with".

Meeting the parents of murdered Stephen Lawrence, May 1993 - It was Mr Mandela who shone a light on Britain's own racial problems when he met the grieving parents of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Mr Mandela said:"We are deeply touched by the brutality of this murder, even though it is commonplace in our country. It seems black lives are cheap. The evil of racism is taking away innocent lives. The problems of racism and fascism is threatening the whole world. Doreen and Neville Lawrence met Mr Mandela again when he visited Britain several years later, and Baroness Lawrence has credited him with helping their efforts to get justice for their son.

Visiting London, 1996 - Crowds flocked to see Nelson Mandela in London in 1996 as he not only appeared on a balcony at South Africa House, but also treated hordes of wellwishers in Brixton, south London, to a long-awaited sight of him. During an emotional visit, as thousands waited in the summer sun, Mr Mandela outshone the Prince of Wales as they carried out a walkabout in Brixton. As crowds 12ft deep jostled for a sight of the inspirational leader, many tried to leap security barriers to touch him.

London, August 2007 - In 2007 an emotional Mr Mandela was at the unveiling of his statue opposite the Houses of Parliament, as it joined those of other great leaders including Sir Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Disraeli. Thousands gathered in central London as the statue was unveiled following a campaign by Lord Attenborough, director of the anti-apartheid film Cry Freedom, and Wendy Woods, the widow of newspaper editor Donald Woods, a committed anti-apartheid activist who had come to the UK after he was forced to flee with his wife and five children. The former South African president was visibly moved as Mr Brown described the artwork as a "beacon of hope" for the oppressed around the world.