Thatcher returns to his mother's side

Sir Mark Thatcher said last night he planned to meet up with his family in the United States "imminently" as he made his first public appearance since admitting his role in an African coup plot.

Sir Mark Thatcher said last night he planned to meet up with his family in the United States "imminently" as he made his first public appearance since admitting his role in an African coup plot.

Sir Mark, 51, emerged for the first time since his departure from South Africa at the house in London where he is staying with his mother, Baroness Thatcher, 79.

He is believed to be waiting on a US visa so that he can be reunited with his American wife, Diane, and children Michael, 15, and Amanda, 11, in Dallas, Texas.

He was fined £265,000 by a South African court but escaped jail in a plea bargain deal in which he admitted "unwittingly" helping to bank roll an attempted takeover in Equatorial Guinea.

Asked about the coup plot, the court case and calls for him to be stripped of his title, all he said was: "I simply can't comment further."