BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has led parliament in a special session of tributes to Margaret Thatcher, describing the divisive former leader as an "extraordinary" woman who had revived the country's fortunes.
The Iron Lady's harshest critics stayed away in a sign of her bitterly disputed legacy, but the Houses of Commons and Lords were mostly packed full of MPs recalled from their holidays after Thatcher died on Monday aged 87.
"Let this be her epitaph, that she made this country great again," intoned Cameron, a fellow Conservative.
Hailing her as an "extraordinary leader - and an extraordinary woman", Cameron said Thatcher was also renowned internationally for helping defeat communism during the 1980s and ending the Cold War.
"Today, in different corners of the world, there are millions of people who know that they owe their freedom, in part, to Margaret Thatcher," Cameron said.
Supporters say Thatcher's free-market reforms made Britain stronger and hail her leadership during the Falklands War with Argentina, while critics complain her economic policies and battles with the trade unions destroyed millions of lives.
But opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband acknowledged her impact on Britain.
"Whatever your view of her, Margaret Thatcher was a unique and towering figure," he said in answer to Cameron's comments.
Thatcher's son Mark said his twin sister Carol and the rest of their family had been "overwhelmed" by messages of support they had received from around the globe. Their mother died at London's Ritz Hotel after a stroke.
Mark said that Thatcher would have been "greatly honoured" by Queen Elizabeth II's decision to attend her funeral next Wednesday, a rare honour from the monarch only accorded to Winston Churchill.
The ceremony will be held at St Paul's Cathedral in London, where British armed forces personnel from units associated with the Falklands conflict will bear her coffin. A total of 700 military personnel will be involved.
Cameron said her casket would also be draped with the British flag as it was transported on a gun carriage to the cathedral, saying: "This will be a fitting salute to a great prime minister."
The parliamentary session was largely respectful but several of her biggest critics boycotted the debates.
"Her impact and influence is indisputable, but her legacy is too bitter to warrant this claim to national mourning," said one Labour lawmaker who stayed away, John Healey.
Firebrand left-wing lawmaker George Galloway also said he would stay away from what he derided as a "state-organised eulogy".
Security for the funeral is likely to be extremely tight with fears of disruption by Irish republican dissidents and far-left groups. Police are also reportedly bracing for a possible "lone wolf" attack.
Concerns about potential violence rose after trouble erupted at several street parties celebrating her death on Monday night in London, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow.
Many world figures are expected to attend Thatcher's funeral, although a spokesman for former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said he would not be among them because his health was too frail.
Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair and his wife were among the first confirmed guests to the ceremony, which will be followed by a private cremation.
Thatcher's ashes will be laid next to those of her husband Denis, who died in 2003, at the Royal Chelsea Hospital.
Mark Thatcher was out of the country when his mother died, as was his sister, but he returned overnight to the family's plush central London townhouse, where well-wishers had left flowers and tributes.
"We have quite simply been overwhelmed by messages of support, condolence, of every type from far and wide and I know that my mother would be pleased they have come from people of all walks of life," the 59-year-old told reporters.
Several Conservative MPs have called for Thatcher to receive a full state funeral but her spokesman Lord Tim Bell said Thatcher had specifically asked not to have one.
The government dismissed criticism over the cost of the ceremony, which is less ostentatious than the state funeral given to Churchill but is the same honour afforded to the Queen Mother and Princess Diana.
"I think we can afford to contribute to a funeral," Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC.
Thatcher and her policies, dubbed "Thatcherism", remain as divisive now as they were during her premiership from 1979 to 1990.
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