Margaret Thatcher's teddy bears were so sought-after that officials had to turn down invites

Margaret Thatcher's teddy bears, Humphrey and Mrs Teddy, received so many requests to be loaned out for public events that Downing Street had to turn down invites.

Newly-released documents show how a series of letters "inviting" the bears to attend events were turned down, but Mrs Thatcher apparently intervened on occasion.

Gyles Brandreth, founder of The Teddy Bear Museum in Stratford-upon-Avon, wrote to Mrs Thatcher ahead of the opening of the attraction in 1988.

"If you have a teddy bear you felt able to loan to The Teddy Bear Museum you could rest assured that he would be beautifully cared for, properly acknowledged, fully insured and obviously could be returned to you at a moment's notice," he wrote.

A draft reply from the Political Office, on Downing Street headed notepaper, said: "Unfortunately, they will not be able to join you as they have other commitments that month."

Gyles Brandreth

However, a handwritten note on the typed letter, possibly from Mrs Thatcher, instructs the author: "Please return this to me."

The original refusal was apparently overturned and Mrs Thatcher's teddy was loaned to the museum.

Asked about the episode, Mr Brandreth said: "Mrs Thatcher must have intervened because her teddy bear did indeed come to spend a summer holiday with us at our museum in Stratford upon Avon in 1988. I'm happy to think that, given all her other responsibilities, she found time to countermand her staff in this matter."

He said Mrs Thatcher arranged for her daughter, Carol, to bring him the bear as they were then colleagues at TV-am.

"Whatever your politics, Mrs Thatcher was always a kind and thoughtful person," he said. "My wife and I got to spend time with her after her retirement.

"She told me that collecting teddy bears was a 'very sensible hobby' for an MP, given the extra-curricular interests pursued by some MPs!"

However, other requests to borrow Mrs Thatcher's teddies were unsuccessful. Organisers of a charity teddy bears' picnic in Havant were told the bears have "other commitments", and those behind an event to mark Fifty Years of the British Diabetic Association at Covent Garden were told "he (Humphrey) will not be able to join you because he is already engaged for this date".

Chris Collins, of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation, said the Iron Lady was fond of teddy bears and received many requests for them to attend events.

"I think perhaps they actually found it a bit much, there were always people writing in or something," he said. "I suspect they had decided to close down that particular bit, it had become too repetitive, too time consuming."

He added: "No doubt if there was a really good case for one they'd have done it again, but you couldn't have it constantly every single week."

A selection of the documents can be read at www.margaretthatcher.org.