Baroness Thatcher when she was Prime Minister

Blair Meets Thatcher Before Summit

Lady Thatcher visited the Prime Minister at No 10 on Thursday for around half an hour, the day before Mr Blair's first European summit in Noordwijk.

The talks between the two are thought to have covered a wide range of issues but the central focus was on foreign policy and Britain's relations with her partners in Europe and with the United States.

Tony Blair: Getting advice from the "iron lady"

Lady Thatcher, who played a leading role on the world stage for more than 11 years as Premier, is reported to have advised Mr Blair about the correct approach to international meetings and how to handle world leaders.

Their "friendly chat" came not only on the eve of the EU summit but also just prior to Mr Blair's meetings with US President Bill Clinton next week and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

The pair also talked about the importance of Nato and Britain's relationship with the United States, according to today's Sunday Telegraph .

The two politicians are reported to have mutual admiration for each other's strong leadership styles. Earlier this year, Lady Thatcher reportedly described Mr Blair as "a great patriot" and someone who would not "do Britain down".

Meanwhile Mr Blair has always stressed that he will not reverse the main elements of Lady Thatcher's right-wing revolution, amid signs that he too admires some of her achievements.

Reactions to the meeting have been mixed with former Labour Chancellor, Dennis Healey, criticising the move as a "bad choice", but in contrast former Labour Prime Minister, Lord Callaghan, said the meeting was "eminently sensible".