6. Thatcher refused to call for Mandela release Margaret Thatcher refused to call publicly for Nelson Mandela's release from prison during her first official meeting with PW Botha, the former South African prime minister, in 1984.
Government minutes showed the former UK prime minister only raised concerns about Mandela's detention in a private meeting with Botha — and they were quickly brushed aside.
Thatcher's decision to tip-toe around the subject will reignite Labour claims that the Conservatives indulged the apartheid regime in the 1980s and did little to assist Mandela, who died last month.