Thatcher plea is rejected

MARK THATCHER - suspected of financing a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea - will have to answer questions from the West African nation’s investigators, a court ruled yesterday.

Cape Town Judge Dion van Zyl dismissed a request by the 51-year-old son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher to prevent the questioning.

The judge ruled the South African government had not infringed his right to a fair trial or his right to silence to avoid self-incrimination. Prosecutors in Equatorial Guinea said last week they had charged Thatcher in connection with the alleged coup plot and would seek his extradition from South Africa.