Big Ben to
fall silent
to honour Thatcher

Big Ben will be silenced during Baroness Thatcher’s funeral tomorrow as a mark of respect to the former Prime Minister.
A section of the members of the Royal Navy on the approach to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, during a full dress rehearsal for the Funeral of Baroness ThatcherA section of the members of the Royal Navy on the approach to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, during a full dress rehearsal for the Funeral of Baroness Thatcher
A section of the members of the Royal Navy on the approach to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, during a full dress rehearsal for the Funeral of Baroness Thatcher

The announcement was made yesterday as more than 700 serving armed forces personnel gathered in central London before dawn for a full-scale rehearsal of the funeral parade.

A Union flag-draped coffin was carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage from St Clement Danes, the church of the Royal Air Force, down the Strand to St Paul’s. The procession band played the funeral marches of Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn as it made its way along the deserted streets.

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Major Andrew Chatburn, the officer in charge of choreographing the parade, said the rehearsal went “very well”.

A section of the members of the Royal Navy on the approach to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, during a full dress rehearsal for the Funeral of Baroness ThatcherA section of the members of the Royal Navy on the approach to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, during a full dress rehearsal for the Funeral of Baroness Thatcher
A section of the members of the Royal Navy on the approach to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, during a full dress rehearsal for the Funeral of Baroness Thatcher

The run-through was a “vitally important” preparation, familiarising personnel with the duties they will perform on the day and ensuring that any errors in timing are ironed out before Wednesday’s event, he said.

The House of Commons Speaker John Bercow told MPs he had received a number of representations about how Parliament could best mark Lady Thatcher’s funeral, following her death aged 87 last week, and had decided that silencing the chimes of the nation’s most famous bell was “the most appropriate means of indicating our sentiments”.

“I believe there can be a profound dignity and deep respect both expressed in and through silence and I am sure that the House will agree,” he said in a statement to the Commons.

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Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, who has been overseeing the arrangements for the ceremonial funeral, welcomed the move as “a very dignified and respectful gesture on behalf of Parliament”.

House of Commons officials said the last time the chimes of Westminster’s Great Clock were halted in this way was for the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

However, the bells were silenced for a period in the 1970s by a mechanical breakdown.

All Government departments will fly Union flags and other UK national flags on their buildings at half-mast from dawn to dusk on the day of the funeral. The Department for Culture said local authorities were not bound by this request but “may wish to follow it for guidance”, said the department.

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Meanwhile, Bradford West MP George Galloway was due last night to stage an attempt to frustrate plans to cancel Wednesday’s session of Prime Minister’s Questions and Scottish questions in the Commons so MPs can attend the funeral.

Ministers had hoped a motion tabled by Leader of the House Andrew Lansley to delay the start of business in the Commons until 2.30pm on Wednesday would go through “on the nod”.

But the Respect MP signalled he would block the motion by calling out “object”, forcing the Government to set aside time today to debate the proposal. With Labour saying it will not object to the timetable motion, it is still almost certain to be passed, but Mr Galloway is planning to use any debate as an opportunity to voice dissent at the honours being shown to Lady Thatcher.

Mr Galloway described the former Prime Minister as a “wicked woman” and said there had been a “tidal wave of guff” since her death.

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“We’ve already had the recall of Parliament with MPs being paid up to £3,700 to fly back from the Caribbean holiday that they were on and then fly back to start their holiday again,” he said. “Now they want cancel Prime Minister’s Questions, it’s absurd.”

He added: “There are millions of people in this country hate the very word Thatcher and Thatcherism, which continues to this day.”

Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman declined to comment on Mr Galloway’s planned intervention.