A 2.5m high Carrara marble statue of former Prime Minister Margaret (now Lady) Thatcher, complete with handbag, carved by sculptor Neil Simmons was still looking for a site to stand on as NSS went to press.

The 1.8-tonne statue will probably end up in the House of Commons, where Margaret Thatcher earned the soubriquet of the Iron Lady during her 10-year Premiership. However, tradition has it that statues are not placed in the Palace of Westminster while the subject is still alive, so an alternative location has to be found in the meantime.

There was an idea that the statue might be placed in Portcullis House, the new office building for MPs opposite the Houses of Parliament, but it was said to be too heavy and would require the floors to be reinforced at more than anyone wanted to pay in offices that are already the world\'s most expensive per square metre.

Offers to house the statue have come from Lady Thatcher\'s home-town of Grantham and a retirement settlement in Arizona, USA, that is already home to London Bridge.

The sculpture was commissioned in 1998 by the House of Commons Speaker\'s Advisory Committee on Works of Art and paid for by someone who wishes to remain anonymous.