Mark Thatchet Pleas Guilty to Coup Charges

Mark Thatcher, the son of the former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, has pleaded guilty to charges that he broke South African anti-mercenary legislation through his involvement in a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea. Thatcher has been fined three million rand ($500,000) and given a four-year suspended jail sentence. According to the Guardian Thatcher "admitted to paying for a military helicopter used by the mercenaries in the failed plot but maintained that he believed it was to be used as an air ambulance". BBC News quoted Thatcher as saying "There is no price too high for me to pay to be reunited with my family." Read the news reports from the:
• Guardian Unlimited
• BBC News
• News24.com