THE FORMER BRITISH Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has undergone surgery to remove a growth from her bladder and is now recovering in hospital.

A spokeswoman for the former Conservative Party leader said that she was doing “absolutely fine” following the operation which came after she was admitted to hospital on Thursday.

Thatcher, 87, has suffered from poor health in recent years including a series of minor strokes in 2002 which led to medical advice that she no longer make public speeches.

She is also believed to be suffering from dementia with her daughter Carol once revealing that the former premier had to be repeatedly reminded that her husband Denis had died in 2003.

Thatcher, nicknamed the Iron Lady, was Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990 making her the longest continuous occupant of 10 Downing Street in the last century.

She is expected to remain in hospital overnight with BBC News quoting a number of her friends as saying they expect her to remain in hospital for the next number of days.

- with reporting from AFP