That's the why to do it! says Mrs T.

Compliments flew when Mrs Thatcher unveiled a plaque to officially open the headquarters of a Manchester company today.

She praised Sovereign Leasing on Deansgate as “a fantastic example of being right at the top.”

And company bosses Martin Harrison and Paul Green, who run the no-smoking, no-drinking company on the site of a former pub, praised Mrs Thatcher for creating the right environment for businesses to flourish.

The premier told the workforce: “You are the tops and you are going to stay the tops.

Swipe

“What strikes me immediately is the total competence of the office and the teamwork of the people who work in here.”

And she took a swipe at union leaders demanding large pay increases.

“You must feel the way I do when I hear some big unions demanding a 35-hour week. Some of us do 35 hours in two days!”

Mrs Thatcher, in a raspberry coloured two-piece suit, received a basket of flowers and a set of gold-plated coasters marked Sovereign.