Margaret Thatcher funeral: as it happened

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5.15pm The guests are now leaving in Mortlake and with that we are going to tie up our live coverage of the day. It was a day of both respect and rancour but one which went off with very little disruption in the end, the significant protests confined to former mining towns in the north. Lady Thatcher has now been cremated and will be laid to rest in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, alongside her husband Denis.

See Telegraph.co.uk for more on the day, and our Margaret Thatcher page for full coverage.

5.00pm As Lady Thatcher's cremation service ends in Mortlake, an effigy of her coffin with the word 'scab' written in flowers on the side burns in Goldthorpe, a former mining town South Yorkshire. There is a party atmosphere is the town, where large crowds have gathered to cheer proceedings.

^{An effigy of Lady Thatcher's coffin burns in the former mining town of Goldthorpe (AFP).}

4.56pm More on the funeral cortege's arrival at Mortlake Crematorium. Andrew Hough reports.

Baroness Thatcher's hearse arrived just after 430pm, followed by two black Jaguar cars with heavily tinted windows. It was led by four police outrider motorcyles and followed by two Range Rovers.

A couple of hundred people lined the road outside the entrance. Some quietly clapped.

There was a huge police presence as officers stood guard at all entrances to the ceremony. At least two dozen officers swept the surrounding area and searched under cars shortly before the service amid very tight security.

Sniffer dogs were also used and a police helicopter followed the hearse overhead. News helicopters also followed the car's journey from the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

It was business as usual before Lady Thatcher's service with other funerals taking place beforehand.

4.32pm Lady Thatcher's coffin has arrived at Mortlake Crematorium, where a small private service and cremation will occur. Her ashes are likely to remain at the crematorium for several days before returning to the Royal Hostpital Chelsea to be buried.

4.17pm George Osborne, who was pictured crying during the funeral service earlier, has tweeted this about his feelings.

That much is apparent from the image below, Osborne welling up as David Cameron laughs at a joke from the Rt Rev Chartres.

^{George Osborne, pictured crying during Lady Thatcher's funeral service.}

4.02pm Lady Thatcher's coffin is now en route to Mortlake Crematorium where there will be another short service attended by family members. Her ashes will later be returned to the Royal Hospital Chelsea where they will be laid to rest alongside those of her husband of 62 years, Denis Thatcher.

Denis was also cremated at Mortlake, following his death in 2003 from pancreatic cancer.

3.56pm More on the celebrations held in former mining communities in the north. Claire Carter reports.

In Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire, pubs were decorated with banners and former miners gathered to hang an effigy of Lady Thatcher outside the Union Jack pub, with signs reading “Thatcher the milk snatcher”.

People dressed in National Coal Board clothing gathered outside the pub and several National Union of Mineworkers banners were displayed.

A coffin was also brought out to parade through the street before being set alight, and one house displayed a sign which read: “The Lady’is not for turning but tonight she’ll be for burning.” Fireworks were planned for later today.

In nearby Grimethorpe an old pit winding wheel had been placed at the entrance to the village, with a sign which read: “Thatcher died naturally but she murdered our pit.”

Groups of miners also turned up at a club in County Durham to have a “good-knees up” to celebrate her death, according to Durham Miners Association General Secretary David Hopper.

Mr Hopper, who was at the pub in Easington Colliery, said: "Everyone who is here from Durham Miners is here to celebrate her death and everyone we have invited is here to celebrate her death.

“She destroyed our jobs, our communities, our youth's future and made an incessant attack on miners in their communities.”

3.40pm Parliamentary sketchwriter Michael Deacon followed part of the funeral procession earlier today as the gun carriage bearing Lady Thatcher's coffin made its way to St Paul's. On a day of mixed reactions to the ceremonial funeral, the applause drowned out the jeers, he reports.

It seemed to come out of nowhere. No one knew who’d started it – perhaps it was purely instinctual. But as the hearse came into view, the crowds found themselves breaking into applause – applause that followed the hearse all the way along the route, until it drew up at the church of St Clement Danes.

Then, once the coffin had been loaded on to the gun carriage and the horses moved off, the applause started again – and followed it all the way to St Paul’s.

Down the roads it spread and spread and spread, a long impromptu chain of respect and appreciation.

The applause wasn’t rowdy; there were no whoops or whistles. It was steady, warm, dignified. But also, somehow, determined.

At Ludgate Circus, protesters began to boo and jeer – only to find the rest of the crowd applauding all the more loudly to drown them out.

2.46pm According to an Ipsos MORI poll comissioned by the Evening Standard, Lady Thatcher remains the public's number one choice to lead the country during a crisis.

The staunchest support for Lady Thatcher came from skilled working people, the so-called 'C2' group, rather than the elite.

According to the Standard, 31 per cent picked Lady Thatcher from a list of the five most recent premiers to be their preferred leader in the economic crisis.

2.21pm Up to 1,000 former miners have marched through the South Yorkshire town of Goldthorpe, Joe Shute reports.

Cheered on by large crowds and led by banners from the original strikes, a horse and cart carried an effigy of Baroness Thatcher in a mock funeral procession. The word scab was written in flowers on the side.

At the Rusty Dudley pub the protesters planned to burn the effigy. A bagpipe played and others chanted songs celebrating Lady Thatcher's death.

The Goldthorpe colliery closed in 1994 and those present today said the town has never recovered.

^{An effigy of former Margaret Thatcher is placed in a 'coffin' as people gather to celebrate her in Goldthorpe (AFP)}

2.13pm Lady Thatcher's famed 'divisiveness', cited endlessly since she passed away, was there for all to see outside St Paul's earlier. Patrick Sawer reports.

As the crowds drifted away, the official guests making their way to Guildhall the rest to Tube stations and offices, a heated argument broke out between two onlookers.

Soon a crowd gathered as the pair, an elderly, white haired man in suit and tie man and a young black woman went at it hammer and tongs.

They were talking at cross purposes. While he praised Baroness Thatcher for girding NATO to stand up to the Soviet Union, she decried what she regarded as her pernicious effect on the housing market and the banking sector.

Some people nodded, others giggled, but it was - in the shadow of St Paul's great dome - a continuation of London's great democratic debate, echoing down the centuries.

1.45pm Rosa Silverman has found former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind among the mourners.

Speaking on his way into the Guildhall, Sir Malcolm described the funeral as a "fitting send-off.".

In every sense it was perfect for the occasion. You can't mourn too much when someone's 87 and has had such an extraordinary life and achieved so much.

Who knows, perhaps she was enjoying it from somewhere else.

It was a particularly appropriate service because, as the Bishop of London said, it was a funeral not a memorial service. "It was remembering this unique person. Whether you liked her or didn't like her, the breadth of background of people there...everyone knew she was a phenomenon.

Kissinger said he had been there because "he wanted to be there", despite his advancing years, Mr Rifkind said.

He described Lady Thatcher as "fantastic" to work with.

"I don't want to idolise her, there were times when you got very frustrated and very angry," he said. But this was a normal characteristic of a great person, he argued, and was part of what made her "magnificent."

He said her legacy "speaks for itself", arguing that no political party has tried to "reverse what she achieved".

Asked about what it was like to be reunited with so many members of the Thatcher-era administration, he replied: "We all bump into each other from time to time but perhaps not the whole gang. It's nice to see people you've worked closely with. Some of them are close friends really."

1.40pm Does a skill for oratory run in families? Here is Amanda Thatcher, Lady Thatcher's granddaughter, giving the reading. She did not put a foot wrong. Read about Sir Mark Thatcher's American-educated children here.

^{Amanda Thatcher gives the first reading at the funeral (GETTY)}

1.30pm Rosa Silverman and Claire Duffin are outside the Guildhall, where guests are gathering.

Liam Fox said of the funeral: "I thought it was a wonderful and fitting end to the public life of Margaret Thatcher. The service was very moving - simple but to the point."

He praised the "splendour of St Paul's" and the history of the occasion, describing it as "tremendous."

David Davis MP said: "It was a magnificent service. It was beautiful. The music was beautiful.

"The sermon was unbelievably good, it caught the right tenor of it, it dealt with a controversial subject with dignity and it was funny."

He said the service had done Lady Thatcher justice and pointed out there had been a "huge" number of people on the street.

"I wasn't sure if we were going to have a demo or complete apathy," he said.

"But there are more people out there on the street than there are in the Conservative Party."

Douglas Hurd, the 83-year-old former Thatcher era cabinet member, arrived on foot but was helped along and used a walking stick.

The Lord Mayor of London, Roger Gifford, arrived with Lady Mayoress Clare Taylor. Also at the reception was Oliver Letwin, the Conservative MP; Iain Duncan Smith; Eric Pickles and Ed Balls, the Labour leader. Nick Clegg was accompanied by his wife Miriam. Among the American dignitaries was Newt Gingrich.

1.07pm Andrew Hough it at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where Lady Thatcher's coffin is waiting to be taken to Mortlake for a private cremation this afternoon.

As the Hearse arrived at Royal Hospital, Chelsea, just before 12.30pm, the crowds, standing two or three deep around the gates, starting to quietly applaud as it drive in from Chelsea Bridge Road.

As the coffin was brought out, officials from the hospital bowed their heads as it was taken into the infirmary named after the former Prime Minister.

But around the corner at London gate, located on the north side of the hospital, some people who had wanted to pay their respects were left frustrated.

Police would not confirm which of the five gates she would arrive at.

Patti Fordyce, 63, who lives nearby in Chelsea, was visibly annoyed at missing out on seeing the hearse.

"It is a shame, it would have been nice," said the retired Conservative Party worker, who moved to London more than 40 years ago from San Diego.

"I would never have thought they would not bring her through London gates. Every other aspect of the funeral was detailed. It was no secret she was coming here."

12.59pm From the video desk, footage of the gun carriage procession as it bore Lady Thatcher's coffin through central London to St Paul's Cathedral.

12.54pm The Met police has confirmed that the only items thrown at the coffin as it passed through central London earlier were flowers, and that no arrests have been made.

^{A protestor holds aloft his note of disapproval (GETTY)}

12.55pm Foreign dignitaries started arriving at Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of London, a little after midday, Claire Duffin reports.

Among the first to arrive was William Hague, the foreign secretary, with his wife Ffion. He was followed by the former conservative Prime Minister, John Major, and Phillip Hammond, the defence secretary.

Steven Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister was next followed by Sir Mark and Carole Thatcher, who collected a black scarf from the boot of her car before going inside.

David and Samantha Cameron walked inside holding hands. A small crowd had gathered on Mansion House Street to watch the dignitaries arrive in cars. Others arrived in a large coach.

12.49pm

A demonstrator carries a protest sign while the funeral takes place at St Paul's Cathedral.

^(GETTY)

12.38pm US Republican and Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann is being interviewed on Sky News after attending the funeral. Sounding oddly quaint and proper, Bachmann says the service "was exactly as one would hope it would be", adding that Thatcher was "a great intellect who had a great heart, which she put together with her spirit ... she was also a woman of faith, and was able to bring great moral clarity to bear".

Asked whether there was "a little bit of Thatcher" in her and if she was the "American Iron Lady", Bachmann said it would "be an honour" to be called that.

12.30pm Dozens of ex-miners have arrived at a club in Easington Colliery, County Durham, with many of them saying they are there to celebrate Baroness Thatcher's death.

Hundreds are expected to attend the event, which will also commemorate the end of mining in the town. Dave Douglass, who worked at Doncaster coalfield for 35 years, said he was there to mourn her birth.

"She wanted to smash the union and sell off whatever was profitable," he said. "I'm here to mourn her birth as she represents the system that we are all still suffering under.

"I'm also here to commemorate the loss of this pit and every pit in Great Britain. If people say it's in bad taste to do this, I would say it was in bad taste when miners were killed on the picket lines."

Durham Miners Association general secretary David Hopper said they were there for a party and to have a "good knees-up".

12.26pm Police blocked a group of demonstrators from reaching the cortege earlier, Victoria Ward reports.

The group surged up from Blackfriars to Ludgate Circus seconds before procession came past. The riot police had their helmets attached to their belts. They moved into stand in front of the protesters for the moments the procession came by and left shortly afterwards. One officer came and collected up all of their helmets when it became clear they weren't needed. I'm sure it was just a precaution and they didn't want to aggravate the crowd with a display off too much force

12.22pm Samantha Cameron chose to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher with her choice of outfit, the fashion desk reports.

Recycling a gold pussy bow blouse - a style Thatcher made all her own during her residency at Number 10 - by Paul & Joe, which we last saw her wear for a tea party in 2008, Cameron stood out from the sea of black in ostensibly chic fashion.

More on that here: Samantha Cameron pays tribute to Margaret Thatcher’s style at funeral

12.17pm As the congregation began to leave the cathedral, Tony Blair stood on the steps shaking hands with mourners. Reports on Twitter that Carol Thatcher was taking on her mobile phone have proved to be untrue, it appears she was sweeping her hair while talking.

12.11pm Among the spectators who turned out to watch Lady Thatcher's hearse leave Westminster was a delegation from a Polish political party who had come from Poland to pay their respects to the woman they see as a political heroine, Rosa Silverman reports.

Janusz Korwin-Mikke, from Warsaw, the president of the Congress of the New Right, said he had met Lady Thatcher three times while she was in office and once after she had left.

"She was a very practical woman," he said. "She broke the trade unions and she was very effective.

"I think there are more people in Poland who admire her than in England." He described it as his "duty" to come to London to pay tribute to her.

A member of his party, Conrad Berkowicz, a 28-year-old graphic designer from Krakow, said he had never visited Britain before but wanted to come and witness Lady Thatcher's final journey.

"It's very important to me to show that Poland also admires Margaret Thatcher," he said.

"I admire her politics and economics - she made some very difficult changes and had to be brave to do that because they weren't popular."

12.06pm

This striking picture shows the coffin being carried into the cathedral at the beginning of the service.

The coffin is carried as it arrives for the funeral service (Eddie Mulholland)

12.00pm The coffin is carried down the cathedral steps followed by family, led by Sir Mark Thatcher, and then the Lord Mayor of London and the Queen. The assembled crowds cheer the coffin as the bearer party carries it toward the hearse, with a shout of 'hip hip hooray'. It will be taken the the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Attention then turned to her family, who remained on the cathedral steps to greet the Queen as she emerged. Mark Thatcher stepped forward and shook her hand, leaning close to her to say a few words, of thanks no doubt.

The coffin entered St Paul's at exactly 11am and leaves at exactly 12pm. Baroness Thatcher was a stickler for punctuality.

L-R: daughter Carol Thatcher, her partner Marco Grass, Sarah Thatcher, son Sir Mark Thatcher and grandchildren Michael Thatcher and Amanda Thatcher on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral

11.57am The Queen looks on as the coffin is carried out of the cathedral by the bearer party. The choir sings the Nunc Dimittis from Evening Service in G, by Charles Villiers Stanford.

11.49am The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, gives the blessing.

Support us, O Lord, all the day long of this troublous life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over and our work is done. Then, Lord, in your mercy grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at the last; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever.

And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you this day and always. Amen.

11.46am Following the prayers, the choir sings In Paradisum, from the Requiem Mass by Gabriel Fauré. The first line of the piece, 'In paradisum deducant te Angeli', means 'may angels lead you into paradise'.

Following In Paradisum, the congregation join the choir for the hymn, 'I Vow to Thee, My Country'.

11.41am One dedicated fan at Ludgate Circus has printed out several copies of the order of service and is listening to it on a portable radio, Victoria Ward reports.

11.30am George Osborne is weeping while the Rt Rev Chartres speaks.

11.22am The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, is now speaking at the funeral service. Lady Thatcher is “one of us” in death, irrespective of politics, he tells the congregation.

The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an ism.

Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service.

There is an important place for debating policies and legacy; for assessing the impact of political decisions on the everyday lives of individuals and communities. Parliament held a frank debate last week - but here and today is neither the time nor the place.

At such a time, the parson should not aspire to the judgments which are proper to the politician; instead this is a place for ordinary human compassion of the kind that is reconciling.

It is also the place for the simple truths which transcend political debate. Above all it is the place for hope.

Read the full story: Margaret Thatcher is ‘one of us’ in death, Bishop of London tells funeral

11.17am As the funeral moves on at St Paul's with Psalm 84, set to music from Ein Deutsches Requiem by Brahms, protests continue outside. Michael Deacon has spoken to a man protesting with a large yellow smiley face sign.

"It's an expression," he said defiantly, continuing to hold the smiley face aloft through the scrum as mourners tutted. "An expression of my democratic views." Others in the crowd weren't slow to express their own democratic views to him: one man, he said, had threatened to throw him in the Thames. "But he was a skinhead, so I don't care what he thinks."

For some reason, the protester did not wish to have his "democratic views" published in a national newspaper, and refused to give me his name.

11.15am David Cameron now gives the second reading, from John 14. 1-6. This reading was also requested by Thatcher, to be read by the Prime Minister.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

^{David Cameron gives the second reading at Lady Thatcher's funeral.}

11.11am In a cracked voice, Amanda Thatcher, granddaughter of Lady Thatcher, gives the first reading, from Ephesians 6. 10-18. Lady Thatcher requested that Amanda speak at the funeral.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

11.08am The congregation now joins the choir in singing the first hymn, He Who Would Valiant Be, by John Bunyan (1628-88) and Percy Dearmer (1867-1936), to the tune Monks Gate, adapted from an English folksong by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).

11.06am The Very Reverend David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s, gives the bidding:

We come to this Cathedral today to remember before God Margaret Hilda Thatcher, to give thanks for her life and work, and to commend her into God’s hands.

We recall with great gratitude her leadership of this nation, her courage, her steadfastness, and her resolve to accomplish what she believed to be right for the common good.

We remember the values by which she lived, the ideals she embraced, her dignity, her diligence, her courtesy, and her personal concern for the well-being of individuals.

And as we remember, so we rejoice in the lifelong companionship she enjoyed with Denis, and we pray for her family and friends and for all who mourn her passing.

We continue to pray for this nation, giving thanks for its traditions of freedom, for the rule of law and for parliamentary democracy; remembering the part we have played in peace and conflict over many centuries and in all parts of the world; praying for all today who suffer and sorrow in sickness, poverty, oppression or despair, that in harmony and truth we may seek to be channels of Christ’s faith, hope and compassion to all the world; joining our prayers together as we say: The Lord's Prayer.

11.02am Lady Thatcher's grandchildren Michael and Amanda, son and daughter of Sir Mark Thatcher, walk ahead of the coffin carrying the former Prime Minister's Order of Merit and Order of Garter.

11.00am At exactly 11am the great west doors of the cathedral are closed and the guests stand. The coffin is borne through the nave as the choir sings the sentences, set to music by the English composer William Croft.

10.53am The guard has been removed from the rear of the gun carriage and the coffin is being carried by the bearer party up the steps into St Paul's. The cathedral's bell rings out with a muffled tone.

10.51am There is loud applause as the coffin passes through Ludgate Hill. The applause for Lady Thatcher has competed at various points along the route with loud booing.

10.47am

The Band of the Royal Marines plays as it follows the gun carriage along Fleet St.

^{(Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)}

10.45am The Queen and Prince Philip have arrived at St Paul's to the sound of the national athem and cheers from the crowd, who are singing along. They are greeted by the Lord Mayor of London, who carries a mourning sword, and escorted into the cathedral to meet the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of London.

10.43am As the procession moves forward, a gun salute is fired at one-minute intervals from the Tower of London. Among the three 105mm light guns operated by the Honourable Artillery Company are two that were used in the Falklands, which were last fired in anger at Goose Green and the final assault on Port Stanley.

The first shot was fired as the gun carriage's wheels started to roll and some 17 are expected to be released before the carriage reached the West Steps of St Paul's.

10.40am As the gun carriage moves into Fleet Street, flowers are thrown on the coffin by the crowds. The carriage is followed by military personnel from regiments sent to the Falkland Islands by Lady Thatcher.

10.38am Also among the guests pictured arriving at St Paul's this morning were Falklands veteran Simon Weston, who suffered 46% burns to his body when his ship RFA Sir Galahad was bombed by Argentine jets in 1982. Weston said he hoped "beyond all hope" that it would remain a dignified day.

^{Falklands veteran Simon Weston arrives at St Paul's (GETTY)}

10.32am The word of command for the slow march of the gun carriage has been given and it is now en route to St Paul's where members of the Thatcher family including children Carol and Sir Mark Thatcher have just arrived and been greeted by the Lord Mayor of London. Crowds applaud the carriage as it departs the church.

10.26am The bearer party, which includes personnel from different elements of the Armed Forces, is now carrying the coffin on to the gun carriage on which it will travel to St Paul's. The coffin will be escorted from Ludgate Hill by a Guard of Honour from the Welsh Guards, who fought in the Falklands, and the Royal Marines.

On the steps of St Pauls there is a guard of honour including 14 Chelsea Pensioners, with whom Lady Thatcher used to pray.

10.21am

Other guests seen arriving at the Cathedral include former Prime Ministers Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Sir John Major, and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

^{Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown arriving with his wife Sarah (GETTY)}

^{Former Prime Ministers John Major and Tony Blair attend with their wives Norma Major and Cherie Blair (GETTY)}

^{Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger attends the funeral of Margaret Thatcher (GETTY)}

10.19am Lord Saatchi has just arrived at St Paul's ahead of the Prime Minster, David Cameron. Writing in the Telegraph at the weekend, Lord Saatchi paid tribute to his friend as "the woman who rebranded Britain".

10.14am The service at St Clement Danes has the air of a mini funeral, tweets Gordon Rayner.

10.08am The coffin has arrived at St Clement Danes, where the church bells are chiming and a military band is playing Jerusalem, with a not entirely complimentary effect.

^{Thatcher's coffin is carried into St Clement Danes on the first part of its journey to St Paul's.}

10.06am The protesters at Ludgate Circus boo, blow whistles and chant "waste of money" as military marching bands pass along the funeral procession route.

10.04am Hannah Furness has spoken to Sian Davies, who has come to protest in memory of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster.

Wearing a red t-shirt commemorating the 96 who died in the Hillsborough disaster, she said she felt strongly about Lady Thatcher's policies, including Section 28 and bombing of the Belgrano.

Fighting back tears, she said:

Ninety-six people died going to a football match and she helped cover it up. They messed up and it's disgraceful people waited so long for the truth. She makes me very angry. I'm planning to stand and observe and make sure they see both sides of the story."

10.02am The bells of St Margaret Westminster church are peeling in a muffled style as the hearse travels along Whitehall and the crowds along the procession route, about six deep, are cheering it as it passes.

9.58am Lady Thatcher's coffin has been carried out of the Palace of Westminster and loaded into the hearse. It will now travel up to St Clement Danes on the Strand, and on by gun carriage to St Paul's, where mourners are being seated.

9.56am Baroness Thatcher's coffin will shortly be taken from the back entrance of the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster. Parliamentary staff members have gathered outside to witness Lady Thatcher's final moments in the Houses of Parliament. A number of Tory MPs are also outside the Commons, including Tracey Crouch and Gavin Barwell.

9.52am The Rev Paul Nicolson, a retired Anglican priest, was one of the first onlookers to gather at Trafalgar Square, Ed Malnick reports.

Arriving shortly before 9am, Nicolson said he felt it was the duty of priests to "grieve for both sides".

Mr Nicolson, 80, from Tottenham, north London, who founded a charity called Taxpayers Against Poverty, said as a parish priest he dealt with people who "could not cope" with the poll tax. He said: "Clergy support grieving families. I am sure the clergy will have been looking after the Thatcher family - that is quite right too."

"But there is an awful lot of grief on the other side as a result of the policies to which she aspired and which many other people implemented. Under Tony Blair the Labour Party fell for it hook, line and sinker.

"I remember more a thousand people being unlawfully imprisoned for not paying their tax and over the years there has been a great amount of grief created by arrears and bailiffs.

"It is all the fault of an extreme free market philosophy which treats as collateral damage the grief and pain it creates."

As a priest in Henley-on-Thames in the 1980s Mr Nicholson refused to pay poll tax, believing it was "unjust" for the poor.

"It caused a great stir and ultimately they got their tax through the Church Commissioners," he said.

9.47am Mourners are now gathering at St Pauls. Cabinet ministers Danny Alexander and Vince Cable have just been spotted going in. Lord Tebbit, the former Trade Secretary, has arrived in a morning suit to cheers and loud applause.

^{Flags are lowered to half mast near St Pauls}

^{(REUTERS/Kevin Coombs)}

9.46am Lord Mandelson has said the only advice Baroness Thatcher ever have him was that the Irish were "all liars" and not to be trusted.

The Labour former cabinet minister claimed the comments were made in 1999. He said he did not know the Baroness well enough to attend her funeral.

Although I helped to organise the Labour Party's opposition to her policies throughout the 1980s, I only ever met her once. It was the day I was appointed Northern Ireland secretary and our paths crossed. She came up to me and she said, 'I've got one thing to say to you, my boy ... you can't trust the Irish, they are all liars', she said, 'liars, and that's what you have to remember, so just don't forget it'. With that she waltzed off and that was my only personal exposure to her.

9.44am Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude has defended the spending on Baroness Thatcher's funeral, saying it will cost "much, much less" than £10 million.

The costs are being shared between Lady Thatcher's estate and the government.

Speaking on ITV's Daybreak programme, Mr Maude said Lady Thatcher was a "remarkable" premier who made a "massive contribution" and it was right in a "decent country" that this should be recognised. "The costs will be a fraction of what is being bandied around," he said.

Asked if he could could give a clue to the cost of the funeral if it is not £10 million, he responded: "It is much, much less than that."

Police sniffer dogs in central London this morning.

9.40am More on the silent back-turning protest given permission by the police. One female protestor who helped organise the protest told Sky News why she decided to act.

Last week I was just getting more and more angry that taxpayers' money was going to be used to venerate a politician as divisive as Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher was no Winston Churchill, she made the rich richer and the poor poorer. I don't want this taxpayer-funded extravaganza in my name.

9.36am The Conservative Party feels a "collective guilt" over the manner of Lady Thatcher's ousting by her own MPs in 1990s, a Tory MP is reported to have claimed.

Mark Field told website London Loves Business that there had been an element of "hullabaloo" over her death because the party felt guilty over her exit.

He said: “I think maybe that is an element of why things are quite as [they are, with] slightly a hullabaloo about it all. That considered, I was a great fan of hers. There is an element of collective guilt about the way in which she was treated.

“She was the first female leader. She won three elections and never lost an election with the public at large, but was ousted in the way that she was.”

9.33am

Grantham Museum, in Lady Thatcher's birthplace, is showing the funeral live on a big screen. There is not a great deal of competition for seats yet, as

Nick Britten

's photo shows.

Bill Mowat,79, who served with the RAF, was the first mourner to arrive at Grantham Museum, complete with his service medals. He said: "I just came down to show my face and pay my respects. I thought there would be more people here.

"The mood in the town has been mixed, since she died, which was no different to when she was alive."

9.27am

A spectator sporting a Union Flag hat and coat at Parliament Square ahead of this morning's funeral procession.

^{(Yui Mok/PA)}

9.22am "We are all Thatcherites now", David Cameron said on Radio 4's Today Programme this morning, adding: "One of the things about her legacy is some of those big arguments we had everyone now accepts."

The Prime Minister also said it is "absolutely fitting and right" to give Lady Thatcher a ceremonial funeral.

Rather than being divisive, he said she had created less strife by bringing down the unions.

Mr Cameron said: "I think it will be quite a sombre event but it is a fitting tribute to a great prime minister, respected around the world. "I think other countries in the world would think Britain had got it completely wrong if we didn't mark this in a proper way."

"One of the things about her legacy is some of those big arguments that she had everyone now accepts," he said.

"No one wants to go back to trade unions that are undemocratic or one-sided nuclear disarmament, or having great private businesses in the public sector. In the end, the breaking of the mould, the difficult decisions, led to less division, less strife at the end of it."

Read the full story from Rowena Mason: 'We are all Thatcherites now,' says David Cameron.

9.17am Police have arrested three men in the City of London on suspicion of daubing anti-Thatcher graffiti on a wall, reports Martin Evans.

The men were spotted close to some "fresh" graffiti on a wall in Threadneedle Street and when they searched their vehicle they discovered cans of spray paint and other items.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said they had been taken to a central London police station for questioning.

It is not clear at this stage what the graffiti said.

9.13am David Wooding, associate political editor of the Sun, has published pictures of the full Baroness Thatcher tribute pull-out from the now defunct News of the World. It appears to have been prepared when Lady Thatcher was ill, and carries the title 'Margaret Hilda Thatcher 1925-2010'. The paper was closed in 2011 in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.

9.09am One of the interesting issues over the course of the day will be which forms of protest constitute grounds for arrest and which don't. Steven Swinford reports on early indications.

Police have told one protester on the funeral procession that she can't sing Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead, but can turn her back on cortège.

The police comments suggest that singing the song, which reached number two in the charts at the weekend, could be grounds for arrest.

Scotland Yard has said protesters could be arrested under the Public Order Act for "alarming or distressing" mourners at Baroness Thatcher's funeral.

9.00am More on the planned protests from my colleague Sam Marsden, who is at Ludgate Circus.

So far protesters are outnumbered by journalists and police officers at Ludgate Circus, the main point along the funeral procession route where activists are planning to stage a peaceful demonstration by turning their backs on Lady Thatcher's coffin.

Under a dull blank sky, passionate supporters of the former prime minister stood yards away from her bitterest opponents as commuters pushed past both groups on their way to work.

Among the protesters was David Winslow, 22, a student from Singapore who is studying anthropology at Durham University.

He was holding a placard featuring a tombstone with the inscription, "Rest of us in poverty" and wearing a home-made t-shirt with the words "Power to the people" on the front and "Society does exist" on the back.

Mr Winslow admitted he was too young to remember anything about Lady Thatcher's time in office but said he had seen first-hand how people were suffering under the Coalition's cuts.

He said: "I have nothing personal against Margaret Thatcher. I never met her. But what I do oppose are her policies and the continuation of the policies that she started under the current Tory Government.

"These are policies that I believe are causing great harm to society."

He said he would be turning his back when the cortege passed, adding: "We want to maintain a dignified protest and not have people cat-calling and jeering. I would not like to make this about her personally."

8.55am

Lady Thatcher's coffin is currently resting in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft beneath the Houses of Parliament in London. At 10am it will be carried by hearse to St Clement Danes on the Strand, and on by gun carriage to St Paul's.

^{The coffin of Margaret Thatcher rests in the Palace of Westminster (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)}

8.44am Among those invited to the funeral service at St. Paul's are two Falklands veterans. One of them, Simon Weston, who suffered 46% burns to his body when his ship RFA Sir Galahad was bombed by Argentine jets in 1982, said he hoped "beyond all hope" that it would remain a dignified day.

"People have got a right to protest, of course they have, but not at a funeral," the 51-year-old said. "If people protest at the funeral I hope they can do it in a dignified way".

8.34am Savile Row tailors have been inundated with business ahead of the funeral, Melanie Hall reports, as last-minute requests to alter morning suits flood in.

Dege & Skinner said it had received dozens of calls on Tuesday from customers needing black ties and asking for their waistcoats and suits to be modified, after realising the garments no longer fitted.

Read the full story: Tailor flooded with last-minute requests to alter suits for funeral

8.20am A group of former soldiers is gathering at Ludgate Circus to observe the procession and pay its respects, Victoria Ward reports.

C/Sgt Gary Sturge, a veteran of the Falklands who served in the Parachute Regiment, said: "We will pay our respects and then find a suitable watering hole to drink to Lady Thatcher's good health."

He said the best thing Baroness Thatcher had done for the country was to bring down the Iron Curtain, allowing four divisions of men to return home.

"The cost of this funeral is a drop in the ocean compared to the money she saved in that venture," he added.

Asked about the organised protest due to take place at the same spot, he said: "I served in the forces because I wanted my children to be who they wanted to be and say what they wanted to say.

"These people have a right to protest and I'm glad they have the opportunity. It does not mean I agree with what they're saying or how they choose to say it but I hope they appreciate what we have done for them."

8.08am Protest threat: demonstrators plan to sound horns at cortege

Last week The Telegraph revealed how protesters, led by a politics student from Tunbridge Wells, planned to line the streets near St Paul's Cathedral and turn their backs on the cortege as it passed. It was hoped the stunt would be seen by television viewers around the world. The demonstration was arranged through a Facebook group, 'Maggie's Good Riddance Party', which attracted more than 3,000 members.

It now appears protesters are planning an altogether more disruptive protest. Dominic Francis, the ringleader, has instructed members of the group to dress as mourners and assemble between St Clement Danes and St Pauls and carry noise-making equipment - whistles, bicycle bells and horns to blast as the cortege passes.

He advises: "Spread out to avoid kettling. If you fear a dawn raid stay round a friend's house tonight."

Mr Francis, 25, a student at Ruskin College in Oxford, told The Telegraph last week that mourners had "opened themselves up to public criticism" for holding a state-funded funeral.

One attendee has warned of "civil unrest".

^{Dominic Francis has organised a demonstration on the Baroness Thatcher funeral route (Eddie Mulholland)}

8.04am You can follow all of our reporters covering the funeral today from around London and here in the office with this Twitter list.

8.00am Flags over UK government buildings are now being lowered to half-mast.

7.49am My colleague Patrick Sawer is outside St. Paul's, where the funeral service is due to begin at 11am.

By 7.30am the crowds outside St Paul's Cathedral were already two deep, packed against the crush barriers in anticipation of the day ahead.

Several had spent the night camped outside Christopher Wren's great church to guarantee themselves a prime view of this historic occasion. Union flags were draped around shoulders and over railings and sleeping bags and tents packed away as a steady stream of mourners joined the throng.

Margaret Kittle had made the journey especially from her home in Winona, Canada, just as she had for each of Baroness Thatcher's three election victories.

The 79-year-old said: "Its tremendously sad but we all make our entrance and exit on the world stage and Mrs Thatcher's place is guaranteed. I admired her so much. She did such a lot for the world, bringing the Berlin Wall down with President Reagan and Gorbachev and freeing the Falklands.

"I was in Smith's Square for each of her victories and it was a sad day when the grey, back room men tossed her out."

7.45am

Among the first people lining the streets today, apart from the huge number of police officers, are former Finchley constituents Ralph and Cecilia Eschwege,

Hannah Furness

reports from Fleet St:

Mr Eschwege, a former ward chairman in the constituency, tells me Baroness Thatcher attended a party at their house to celebrate election victory in 1987, making a small speech.

"She always made time for her constituents," Mrs Eschwege said. "We had small children at the time, and I remember Denis would play with them while she spent time with us."

7.36am Downing St has released some key figures on those attending today's funeral:

More than 2,300 guests have confirmed they will attend the service at St. Paul's Cathedral.

32 current Cabinet-level ministers and more than 30 from Lady Thatcher's Cabinets between 1979-1990 will attend.

There will be over 50 guests associated with the Falklands, including veterans.

Two heads of state, 11 serving prime ministers and 17 serving foreign ministers will attend.

170 countries will be represented by dignitaries such as members of Royal Families, politicians, and senior diplomats.

More than 4,000 police will be on duty in London for the funeral.

7.25am The senior clergyman overseeing the funeral of Baroness Thatcher today suggested that left wing protesters planning to demonstrate outside should be ashamed of themselves.

The Very Rev Dr David Ison, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, told the Daily Telegraph they should “ask themselves searching questions” about whether it was “appropriate” to protest at another person’s funeral.

He said that, even though they might disagree deeply with the policies of Lady Thatcher’s government, a funeral was “about respecting somebody else’s humanity”.

He said current economic difficulties had made the public think more deeply about the 1980s.

7.20am David Cameron will speak on Lady Thatcher's record today on Radio 4 shortly after 8am.

7.17am Parliamentary business including Prime Minister's Questions will be suspended today, following a vote by MPs last night.

Respect MP George Galloway and Labour backbencher Dennis Skinner had led a bid to prevent Prime Minister's Questions being dropped and the House's sitting delayed today. However, the changes were passed by 245 votes to 13.

Mr Galloway and Mr Skinner demanded a debate on the motion rather than letting it be nodded through with support from the Tory, Liberal Democrat and Labour frontbenches.

In tetchy exchanges, Mr Galloway complained that tributes to Lady Thatcher had "gone on too long" and argued that the Commons had sat during the Second World War.

At one point he was accused of using unparliamentary language for saying Tory backbencher Alec Shelbrooke was "wobbling his ample girth" at him - but the Speaker ruled the remark was merely "distasteful".

7.15am Mourners and spectators are gathering along the route, and are two-deep by St Paul's Cathedral, according to our reporter Patrick Sawer. Hayley Dixon met some camping out last night.

Police officers in dresss uniform are being given instructions outside the Royal Courts of Justice, says Hannah Furness.

7.05am Lady Thatcher's coffin was moved to the Palace of Westminster yesterday and laid in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, where close relatives and colleagues gathered for a memorial. Michael Deacon was there.

A book of condolences was opened in the crypt of the historic chapel, which dates back to 1297, and the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Speaker's Chaplain, maintained a night-time vigil.

7.00am Good morning, welcome to our live coverage of Baroness Thatcher's ceremonial funeral. The funeral procession will begin at 10am when the hearse bearing her coffin leaves the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster for St Clement Danes, the central church of the Royal Air Force on the Strand.

The coffin will be then be taken by gun carriage to St. Paul's Cathedral for the funeral service. Click on the image below to see our interactive graphic on the route and see the full schedule underneath.

^{Click on the image for our interactive graphic on the full route the coffin will take to St. Paul's.}

Full schedule

9.00am - Doors open at St.Paul's for guests

9.40am - Military troops arrive at Arundel St (near St.Clement Danes)

10.00am - Bearer Party arrives at St.Clement Danes / Hearse leaves Westminster / Non-VIP guests seated at St.Paul's / VIPs arrive at St.Paul's

10.15am - Hearse arrives at St.Clement Danes

10.25am - Gun Carriage arrives at St. Clement Danes

10.30am - Coffin transferred on to the Gun Carriage / Guard of Honour will form up at St.Paul's in front of West Steps / Step Liners on St.Paul's Cathedral in position