The Education Minister Ruairi Quinn is to be the official representative of the government at the funeral of Margaret Thatcher next Wednesday. The list of people who have been invited to the service has also been revealed.

All surviving former British Prime Ministers and US Presidents are on the guest list along with Tory ministers, and celebrities like Jeremy Clarkson, Shirley Bassey and Andrew Lloyd-Webber.

2,000 invitations are being sent out for the service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

The last apartheid President of South Africa FW De Klerk will get one as will a representative for Nelson Mandela.

All surviving cabinet members who served under Thatcher are expected to attend as is a member of the family of US President Ronald Reagan.

Lord Kinnock and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev are both unable to attend. But not everyone is convinced Baroness Thatcher should receive such attention.