London 'should copy Madrid and name square after Margaret Thatcher'

Former colleagues of Margaret Thatcher today welcomed the naming of a square after her in Madrid — and called on London to pay a similar tribute to the Iron Lady.

Plaza de Margaret Thatcher was being officially named in a ceremony led by the Mayor of the Spanish capital, attended by her son Sir Mark Thatcher and Tory supporters.

David Cameron sent a message of thanks to be read out at the square, where a new Bank of Madrid headquarters is being planned.

It said: “I am so encouraged that The People’s Party and the Mayor of Madrid are remembering Margaret Thatcher’s enduring legacy in this very special way.”

But veterans of the Thatcher years asked why Madrid was honouring Britain’s first woman prime minister ahead of London. Sir Gerald Howarth, the former defence minister who served as Baroness Thatcher’s Commons aide, said: “Tens of thousands of people attended her funeral in London and nothing would be more appropriate than to have a statue or space in her honour.”

Ex-Cabinet minister John Redwood said he was “delighted” by the tribute, adding: “I look forward to others wishing to follow Spain’s fine example.”

Ben Harris-Quinney, the president of Conservatives Abroad, helped plan the Spanish tribute.

He said: “It is a great shame that more has not been done to honour Margaret Thatcher’s memory in Britain, where Conservatives should be taking the lead in ensuring she is remembered by future generations.”

There are also plans to name a public school in Madrid after Lady Thatcher, who died in April last year.