Fit for an Iron Lady, Maggie’s blast proof battle bus – yours for £25k!
IT MAY not be as iconic as one of her handbags.
But if you wanted to buy a Margaret Thatcher memento, you might want to get your hands on this – the Iron Lady’s 17.5 ton bomb-proof bus.
Ordered by Mrs Thatcher following the 1984 IRA bomb attack in Brighton, her battle bus – built for £4million – could be yours after Russian buyers pulled out of a £25,000 deal.
Owner Nick Mead claims the group went cold on the bus, which has 2in bullet-proof glass and a blast-proof floor, after the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.
Mr Mead, of Helmdon, Northamptonshire, said: ‘It was sold before the Novichok attack in Salisbury but then that collapsed. We were talking on Skype through a translator but then it tailed off in March, about three days after the poisoning.
‘I’m not really sure what they wanted it for.’ The 35-seat bus – bought by Mr Mead for £16,940 about five years ago – also had air filtration systems in case of chemical or nuclear attacks.
It is thought to have been bought for use by Mrs Thatcher in Northern Ireland, and later ferried troops between Londonderry airport and Belfast.
Ex-PC Martin Benet, who drove the bus, said: ‘Mrs T thought it was wonderful but it was a pig to drive because it was built like a tank.’