BARONESS THATCHER will spend Christmas in South Africa in a show of solidarity with her son who is fighting extradition to one of the most brutal prison regimes in Africa.

The public demonstration of support for Sir Mark comes amid renewed speculation about the state of his troubled finances and his marriage.

Friends say that his wife, Diane, has decided to stay in Texas with their children, Michael, 15, and Amanda, 11, over the holiday. The couple have seen little of each other since he was arrested in August at their Cape Town mansion and later charged with bankrolling a coup in the oil-rich West African state of Equatorial Guinea.

She flew to Dallas only days after the raid to settle their children in school close to her family and no date has been fixed for her return to South Africa. A close aide denied that the 16-year marriage was over, saying: “The marriage is fine. Diane is not going to South Africa for Christmas simply because the holiday in America is quite short.”

Lady Thatcher has not seen her son since his arrest, though she paid the £167,000 bail to secure his release from virtual house arrest.

During her stay the former Prime Minister will discuss how her son should best fight his accusers, and fund his expensive legal fight to avoid being sent to Equatorial Guinea’s notorious Black Beach prison.Friends of the 78-year-old Baroness are concerned about the effect the criminal investigation is having on her.

When she was in Cape Town last December she attended a party set around the swimming pool at Sir Mark’s home in what is called Millionaires’ Row in Constantia. There is no party planned this year.

Among the guests she met last time were a number of key figures who three months later were accused of being part of the coup plot. They included one of Sir Mark’s neighbours, the old Etonian Simon Mann, who was jailed in Zimbabwe for trying to buy arms.

Documents revealed by South African investigators claim that Sir Mark, and Jeffrey Archer, invested money in Mann’s company just days before the bungled coup in March. Both deny having any involvement or knowledge of the plot. While this investigation continues Sir Mark’s business career is on hold say close friends. His passport has been seized as a condition of bail. His personal fortune has been estimated as high as £60 million but those closest to him say that he never made a fraction of that figure and is now in financial difficulties.

Some advisers have told Sir Mark that he should seek leniency rather than risk a 16-year jail sentence if convicted of breaking South Africa’s tough anti-mercenary laws.

Prosecutors in South Africa are reported to be willing to consider a plea bargain from Sir Mark. This would involve pleading guilty and agreeing to testify against others accused of bankrolling the coup.

It would also likely lead to him being eventually deported from South Africa after the court cases are resolved. His lawyers have said that Sir Mark is looking forward to robustly proving his innocence.

One legal source in South Africa said: “This may be his last chance when he appears in court next week to extricate himself from this episode.”

His supporters maintain that he is being used as “a political football” by the authorities of both African governments. “It’s a mixture of incompetence and disinformation and trying to publicise this case. There is no doubt that this whole investigation is tainted by the fact that Mark is the son of Margaret Thatcher,” the aide said.

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