Thatcher pleads guilty in coup plot

MARK Thatcher pleaded guilty yesterday to unwittingly helping to finance a foiled coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, accepting a $506,000 fine and suspended jail sentence.

The plea deal allows Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, to leave South Africa and to rejoin his family in the United States.

Within hours, Thatcher arrived at Cape Town's international airport and was whisked to a VIP section.