SIR MARK THATCHER was facing up to 15 years in an African jail last night after being accused of bankrolling an attempted coup in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.
The only son of Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven was under house arrest after a South African police squad raided his home in Cape Town. Lady Thatcher was understood to be gravely concerned by claims that her son was embroiled in a plot by mercenaries to overthrow the President of the West African state.
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Friends and relatives said that they feared for the health of the 78-year-old former Prime Minister, who has recently suffered a number of minor strokes.
Sir Mark was not asked to enter a formal plea when he appeared in court under South Africa’s stringent anti-mercenary laws and was later freed on two million rands (£167,000) bail. Authorities in Equatorial Guinea said that they would not rule out seeking his extradition.
Sir Mark was robbed of his shoes, jacket and mobile phone while waiting in a crowded holding cell before his appearance in court. The goods were later retrieved.
The multimillionaire businessman issued a statement through a friend, Lord Bell of Belgravia, the public relations specialist. “I am innocent of all charges made against me. I am co-operating fully with the authorities in order to resolve the matter. I have had no involvement in any alleged coup in Equatorial Guinea and I reject totally all suggestions to the contrary,” it said.
Sipho Ngwema, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority in Cape Town, said: “We believe Mr Thatcher assisted in finance and logistics (for the alleged coup).”
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Lord Archer of Westonsuper-Mare also faces being drawn into the legal aftermath if the high court in London finds that he was involved.
Last night Lady Thatcher, who was asleep at a hotel in Richmond, Virginia, where she is on holiday, when her son was arrested, was preparing to fly back to Britain after being told of the drama.
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, who by coincidence arrived in South Africa for a two-day visit yesterday, was informed of the arrest, but Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials said that he was not getting involved.
Ann Grant, Britain’s High Commissioner in Pretoria, sought consular access to Sir Mark, 51, after the arrest.
Sir Mark, who inherited the baronetcy after his father, Sir Denis Thatcher, died last year, was put under house arrest, and his passport confiscated. He must return to court in mid-November.
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Lady Thatcher, who has yet to speak to her son, declined to make a statement but will not go to South Africa. Her presence would guarantee that the arrest became an even bigger media circus, friends said.
One close friend said: “Of course she will worry. What mother would not? But she has a forensic mind and will want to know all the facts.”
Carol Thatcher, Sir Mark’s twin sister, said that she was shocked. She flew to London from Switzerland to be by her mother’s side when she returns to Britain tomorrow. “My real concern is for my mother,” she said.
Senior police sources in Cape Town indicated that Sir Mark could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted.However, his lawyers are hoping the case will be confined to a lower magistrates court, which means a maximum five years and a 100,000 rands fine.
Sir Mark is the second Briton accused of involvement in the plot to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Simon Mann, an Old Etonian and former member of the SAS, who is a neighbour of Sir Mark in the Constantia suburb of Cape Town, was among more than 60 suspected mercenaries arrested in Zimbabwe in March.
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It is alleged by prosecutors in Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe that they were to have teamed up with the rest of the suspected plotters in Equatorial Guinea. A total of 84 foreigners, most of them South Africans, are currently in jail in the two countries.An authoritative source said that Sir Mark had invested up to £100,000 in Mr Mann’s company, Guernsey-based Logo Ltd, but that he had denied any involvement or knowledge of a coup.
Senior aides to President Obiang told The Times last night that he was considering asking for the extradition of Sir Mark where he could face the death penalty.
The aide said that President Obiang was also considering adding Sir Mark’s name to the four businessmen he was suing in the High Court in London for compensation. Others who could also face action include Lord Archer, over allegations that he paid more than £100,000 into an offshore account belonging to Mr Mann.
Asked if Lord Archer would be sued if found by the courts to have been involved, the aide said: “Very possibly so.”
“The President believes the money men were every bit as guilty as the mercenaries and wants them severely punished,” the aide said.
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Western security sources said that since the exposure of the alleged plot in March, the South African security authorities have been monitoring suspects, and trying to unravel its financing. Mr Ngwema, the police spokesman, said: “We have credible evidence that he (Sir Mark) was involved in the attempted coup.”
He said they had tried to contact Sir Mark for the past few weeks, but had been in the United States and proved difficult to track down.
“When he slipped quietly back into South Africa, he did not call us as we had instructed him to do,” Mr Ngema said.“That’s why we had to pay him a visit this morning.”