Baroness Thatcher has marked the 20th anniversary of the recapture of the Falklands Islands by visiting a ship that took part in the conflict.

Lady Thatcher, who was Prime Minister at the time of the war, was guest of honour on board the QE2 in Southampton on Friday.

A lunch was held on board, exactly 20 years after Argentine forces surrendered, to commemorate the use of the luxury liner in transporting troops to the south Atlantic.

Former Welsh Guardsman Simon West, who was horrifically burned during the war, gave an address to the invited audience during the lunch.

Family salute

Mr Weston was on board the Sir Galahad when it was bombed by Argentine aircraft at Bluff Cove.

On Sunday, a ceremony at the Falklands Garden in Gosport, Hampshire, will be attended by Lady Thatcher, former Falklands governor Sir Rex Hunt and veterans.

A group of children, many of whom lost relatives in the conflict, will also lay 255 flowers to represent the number of servicemen killed recapturing the islands.

Towards the end of the ceremony, a lone Harrier will fly low into Portsmouth Harbour and face the crowds, before dipping its nose in a salute to the families who lost loved ones and the veterans who returned.

A smaller ceremony is due to take place at the same time in nearby Portsmouth at the city's Falklands Memorial.