Britain's Thatcher undergoes bladder surgery

Britain's former prime minister Margaret Thatcher was recovering in hospital Friday following an operation to remove a growth in her bladder, her spokeswoman said. The 87-year-old, Britain's only female premier, is doing "absolutely fine", having undergone a minor operation, the spokeswoman said. Dubbed the "Iron Lady", the former Conservative Party leader, Britain's prime minister from 1979 to 1990, was admitted to hospital on Thursday and was expected to stay overnight Friday. In recent years, Thatcher -- the 20th century's longest continuous occupant of 10 Downing Street -- has been a subdued figure. After a series of minor strokes, she was told by doctors to quit public speaking in 2002. With dementia taking hold, she has appeared increasingly rarely in public. Her daughter Carol once revealed that the former premier had to be repeatedly reminded that her husband Denis had died in 2003. Public relations executive Lord Tim Bell, Thatcher's adviser for her three general election victories, told the BBC that she had undergone "minimally invasive" surgery. "The operation was a complete success, and her condition is satisfactory. She'll stay in hospital for a few more days and then she'll go home," he said. "She's very tough. The doctors are perfectly happy. They say the operation has been completely satisfactory." Two years ago Thatcher missed an 85th birthday party at Downing Street laid on for her by Prime Minister David Cameron. In July, she was not well enough to attend a Downing Street lunch thrown by Cameron for Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate the monarch's diamond jubilee. The other surviving former prime ministers -- Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major -- all attended. But in October Thatcher was sufficiently well to mark her 87th birthday with lunch at a restaurant in London with her son Mark and his wife. Thatcher's health was thrust into the global spotlight this year when Meryl Streep starred in a controversial Hollywood film about her. "The Iron Lady" drew criticism from Cameron and others for concentrating on her dementia. Streep won an Oscar for the role.