MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Denis Thatcher recovering from heart surgery

Sir Denis Thatcher's six hours heart by-pass operation was “a complete success” according to doctors at the Harley Street Clinic in Central London and a family spokesperson said Sir Denis was expected to make a “full recovery”.

Sir Denis, 87 - husband of the former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher- was admitted in the clinic a few days ago and underwent a series of tests before the operation on Friday night.

Sir Dennis is expected to remain in hospital for one or two weeks before returning home to recuperate.

On saturday Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith issued a statement sending "my personal best wishes to Sir Dennis and Lady Thatcher at this difficult time. We will keep our fingers crossed and hope that he makes a full and speedy recovery".

Last year, twentieth anniversary of the South Atlantic conflict, Baroness Thatcher turned down an invitation to visit the Falklands saying the trip would have been too "gruelling" for Sir Dennis.

Denis Thatcher married Margaret Roberts in 1951, and the couple had twins, Mark and Carol.

After serving eight years in the army Sir Denis went on to become a successful businessman, becoming director of Castrol in 1963. He is still employed by the Burmah Oil Trading Ltd.

His entry in Who's Who lists his only recreation as golf - a hobby which was satirised for more than a decade in the "Dear Bill" parody in Private Eye, which had a gin-loving Sir Denis complaining about life at No 10 to his friend Bill Deedes.

Late last year Lady Thatcher announced, on doctors orders, that she was retiring from public life. Her final public engagement was a ceremony depositing her prime ministerial papers at Churchill College, Cambridge, where the archive of Sir Winston Churchill is also kept.

Sir Dennis is said to have been the key influence in persuading his wife to bow out of public speaking after she suffered several slight strokes.

Baroness Thatcher has always made it a point to underline that she could not have made it to the top without Sir Dennis.