She will always be remembered as the fiercely uncompromising Iron Lady who struck terror into her political opponents.
But in private Margaret Thatcher had a surprisingly 'touchy-feely' side, according to author Salman Rushdie, who has revealed he was even 'groped' by the late Prime Minister.
During an America TV discussion about claims that former US Vice-President Joe Biden touched a number of women inappropriately, Rushdie, 71, said: "I have a little experience of being sexually violated by a powerful politician. In my case it was Margaret Thatcher.
![Salman Rushdie, writer, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on October 10, 2015. Photo / Getty Images](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/R6VH2JBPZEGPOUFPVEGQLA47CQ.jpg?auth=0259edf4a247c965710ee3ead595c9d39d2adf624340f8c3e0691cee046d2f85&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
"The thing that people don't know about Margaret Thatcher is that she was very touchy-feely. You'd sit with her, and she'd put her hands all over you. I had this meeting with her, and she was, like, pawing at me, and I thought, 'I'm being groped by the Prime Minister!'"