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Downing Street has hit back at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for attacking the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber. President Obama and the US Secretary of State fuelled a fierce American backlash against Britain, claiming Abdelbaset Al Megrahi should have been forced to serve out his jail sentence in Scotland – but a senior Whitehall aide said their reaction was ‘disingenuous

Brown: I want Lady Thatcher portrait to hang in No 10The row surrounding Margaret Thatcher's Downing Street meeting with Gordon Brown has intensified after it was revealed she has accepted his offer to commission a painting of her and for it to go on permanent display in No10. The latest evidence of the extraordinary harmony between the two is likely to cause further controversy on both the Labour and Tory benches. A bitter rift is said to exist between Lady Thatcher and David Cameron. Conservative sources claimed she had no qualms about having tea with Mr Brown partly because the...

Thatcher's snub to CameronMargaret Thatcher dealt a devastating snub to David Cameron by asking for TV cameras to record her meeting with Gordon Brown. The Downing Street visit was originally intended to be unpublicised with her smuggled in by the back door. The Prime Minister was happy to go along with that... but 48 hours before Thursday's visit the former Premier's aide called to say she now wanted the meeting to be in the full glare of the cameras. The astonishing U-turn by the woman famed for "handbagging" foes was intended to cause maximum embarrassment for Cameron, who she believes...

Thatcher denies being exploited by Brown's 'political stunt'Margaret Thatcher yesterday poured scorn on Tory Party claims that she was exploited by Gordon Brown. The former premier gave a dressing down to one of David Cameron's frontbenchers who accused Mr Brown of taking advantage of an 'elderly, lonely and frail' old lady by inviting her to No. 10. Friends say Lady Thatcher was infuriated by Rob Wilson's claims that she was the victim of a political 'stunt' after she called in for the private talks and met the Labour leader's family on Thursday. "The idea that she was being exploited is...

Brown brings Maggie back to No 10Last updated at 00:34am on 14th September 2007 Comments (13) The wave was as magisterial as ever, although her steps were a little less confident. But walking through the front door of No 10 Downing Street yesterday, Maggie Thatcher seemed to be back where she belonged. It was a day that many thought they would never see. And as she arrived as the guest of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, it was perhaps a day that David Cameron wished he hadn't seen. As the Tory leader launched his green policy proposals, Westminster's attention was riveted...

Blair planned to spend £30m rebuilding Downing St (You can blame it on George Bush) By Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor (Filed: 29/05/2005) Downing Street is not safe from a terrorist attack, prone to "sewage smells" and an entirely unsuitable venue for the Prime Minister to receive world leaders, according to a secret Whitehall report drawn up after complaints from George Bush. The Sunday Telegraph has been shown details of a highly sensitive £30 million plan - codenamed "Project George" after the American President - for a full-scale redevelopment aimed at turning the engine room of government into a British version...

Muslim cleric talks of No 10 suicide attacks 11.44PM, Fri Feb 18 2005 ITV News has been given exclusive access to a tape recording in which a radical Muslim cleric talks about flying a plane into Downing Street. Shiekh Omar Bakri Mohammed - who is based in Britain - talks of suicide bombings and says that an attack on No 10 would be reconcilable with the Muslim faith. He also claims that missions of "self sacrifice" and "martyrdom" would be welcomed by Allah. It is a statement that will horrify and disgust people across Britain, but he made these statements...

U.S. drops top Iraqi general from most-wanted list SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMThursday, April 24, 2003 The United States has left out the commander of President Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard from a list of most wanted Iraqis. Gen. Maher Sufian does not appear on the U.S. list of 55 most wanted Iraqis. Sufian was commander of the six Republican Guard units responsible for the defense of Baghdad. The absence of Sufian from the U.S. list has sparked claims that the Republican Guard commander struck a deal with the U.S.-led coalition. Arab diplomatic sources said Sufian is believed to have...

The man, according to BBC Journalist Andrew Gilligan, to have told him that some parts of the so-called 'dodgy dossier' has gone missing, according to Sky News.

Last Updated: Thursday, 17 July, 2003, 20:43 GMT 21:43 UK Journalist accused over dossier story BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan has been accused of changing his story when giving evidence to MPs over his report that No 10 "sexed up" an Iraqi weapons dossier. The BBC stands by Gilligan's reporting of his source The Radio 4 Today programme defence correspondent appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee in private to again discuss his allegations against Downing Street press chief Alastair Campbell. Committee chairman Donald Anderson said: "Mr Gilligan clearly changed his mind in the course of the evidence, in particular in relation...