I Once Met ... Margaret Thatcher

David Bennett QC had an encounter at the House of Lords ... Former PM Margaret Thatcher on the supremacy of parliament ... Frosty view on Australian constitutional checks and balances   

Thatcher - lonely in the Lords

In 2001 in London while I was solicitor-general of Australia, I met Margaret Thatcher for a few minutes at the House of Lords. 

She asked me about my functions and I explained that my main task was defending challenges to the validity of Commonwealth legislation in the High Court. 

She obviously knew little about common law systems outside the UK because she expressed incredulity at the possibility that a court could hold legislation to be invalid.

David Bennett AC QC

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