Margaret Thatcher: David Mellor against football one-minute silence
Former Conservative minister David Mellor says asking football to mark the death of Baroness Thatcher with a one-minute silence is a "hopeless request".
Former Prime Minister Thatcher died in London on Monday, aged 87, after suffering a stroke.
“There is no point in asking football to have a minute's silence that lots of people will not observe” David Mellor
"I think it would make a dismal spectacle and we should not try and do it," Mellor told BBC Radio 5 live.
But Saracens have become the first sports team to announce they will mark Lady Thatcher's death.
The Premiership rugby club will observe a minute's silence before their match against Worcester Warriors at Allianz Park on Sunday.
One-minute silences were not held in the Premier League when former Prime Ministers James Callaghan and Edward Heath died. However, respects were paid after the death of the Queen Mother.
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan and his Reading counterpart Sir John Madejski want football to mark the death of Baroness Thatcher, who was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990, with a one-minute silence.
But the Premier League and Football League will not ask clubs to mark Lady Thatcher's death at forthcoming games.
It will be left to individual clubs to decide whether they want to pay tribute. It is understood the Football Association has no plans at present to mark her death.
Mellor, the first person to fulfil the role of Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "I think it's a hopeless request.
