Former PM unlikely supporter of animal rights

The legacy of Margaret Thatcher will be hotly contested and I was never a fan of hers.

But I have always admired her courage and human decency in crossing the floor of the House of Commons to vote, on two occasions (in 1969 and 1975) for Labour Bills proposing a ban on live hare coursing.

For all her ferocious reputation, the Iron Lady, like the majority of people in Britain and Ireland, couldn’t stomach the spectacle of two hyped-up dogs being set on a defenceless, terrified hare for “sport”.