Mark Thatcher loses appeal in Guinea mercenary case

Sir Mark Thatcher suffered a sharp legal setback yesterday at the start of a series of court appearances over his alleged involvement in a failed coup in the oil-rich state of Equatorial Guinea earlier this year.

The former Prime Minister's son, who is due to face charges under South Africa's anti-mercenary laws today, must also submit to questioning tomorrow by the central African state, which accuses him of helping to finance the coup plot.

The 51-year-old businessman appeared confident as he arrived at the high court in Cape Town for his first legal hurdle, an appeal against an order to answer Equatorial Guinea's questions under oath.

Waiting in the panelled courtroom, which overlooks the city's oak-shaded gardens, he joked with journalists about having to report daily to a police station near his mansion in the ultra-rich enclave of Constantia.

"I can get there in four minutes," he boasted.

But if he was bouncy as proceedings started, occasionally propping one of his tasselled brogues against the partition in front of him, Sir Mark could only be called deflated at the end of the 90-minute ruling.

A full bench of three judges rejected all of his counsel's arguments and dismissed his application to have the Equatorial Guinea subpoena set aside.

Costs were also awarded against him.

Emerging from a prolonged huddle with his legal team, Sir Mark said on the steps of the court: "They did reaffirm my right to silence, but it was a long judgement and we will have to study it."

Last night his lawyer, Alan Bruce-Brand, said no decision had been taken on whether to appeal.

Yesterday's judgement adds to Sir Mark's proliferating legal problems since his arrest in August by South Africa's elite Scorpions task force.

He was freed from house arrest after his mother, Baroness Thatcher, the former British prime minister, stood £180,000 bail for him, but his passport has been impounded and he is confined to the Cape Peninsula area.

Despite his bold front yesterday, the forthcoming issue of Vanity Fair magazine carries an interview in which Sir Mark says: "I will never be able to do business again. Who will deal with me? Thank God my father is not alive to see this."

He added that he felt "like a corpse that's going down the Colorado River and there is nothing I can do about it".

Today he is to appear at a magistrate's court in the Cape Town suburb of Wynberg to answer charges under the country's Foreign Military Assistance Act which carry a maximum penalty of 15 years' jail.

The case is not expected to come to trial until next year, but last week three South Africans admitted their involvement in the coup plot and were spared prison sentences in return for agreeing to testify against Sir Mark.

One is Crause Steyl, a former pilot in the apartheid-era special forces with whom the Briton invested some £160,000 to buy helicopters. Mr Steyl said he was fully aware they were to be used in the attempted coup, but Sir Mark has said he believed they were for an air ambulance venture in Sudan.

While defending himself in South Africa, Sir Mark may also have to fight extradition attempts by Equatorial Guinea, which has charged him in absentia. He has been linked to the coup plot by Nick du Toit, who is on trial in Equatorial Guinea with eight other former members of South Africa's special forces.

A verdict is due tomorrow on charges that they were the advance guard for a plane load of mercenaries led by Simon Mann, a former SAS officer and acknowledged friend of Sir Mark who has been jailed in Zimbabwe for illegal arms purchases.

Equatorial Guinea is seeking the death penalty for Mr du Toit, which Sir Mark's lawyers argued was a reason for refusing to allow the regime to question him.

But Judge Deon van Zyl said it was "pure speculation as to whether or not the accused in that trial may be convicted and sentenced."

He also rejected the main contention by the legal team, that the subpoena violated Sir Mark's right to silence and to avoid self-incrimination. "At no stage have such rights been violated or even threatened," said Mr van Zyl.

Sir Mark could invoke his rights at any time during the questioning. Under South African law, 42 questions set by Equatorial Guinea investigators, mostly concerning his dealings with Mr du Toit and Simon Mann, would be put to him by a local magistrate in an open court.

- INDEPENDENT