Author Hilary Mantel defends short story on killing of Margaret Thatcher

Writer Hilary Mantel has delivered a defiant response to criticism from British Conservative Party politicians and right-wing commentators of her imagined account of the killing of Margaret Thatcher by an IRA sniper.

Mantel's short story, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher - August 6th 1983, prompted outrage after it was published by The Guardian over the weekend.

Mantel, who had expected a backlash against the story, said that it would be unconscionable to regard such a fictional account as off-limits, as her critics have suggested.

The Daily Telegraph had refused to publish the story even after it paid a substantial sum to secure the exclusive rights.

Tory legislator Conor Burns told The Sunday Times that the story represented a grave offence to the victims of the IRA. "I also never cease to be amazed by the disordered psyche of some on the left," he said.

Mail columnist Stephen Glover dismissed the story as "dangerous nonsense".

He said: "Mantel's contribution is peculiarly damaging because, while she appears so mild-mannered, her message is interpretable as deadly. If you don't like your democratically elected leaders, who operate within the rule of law, you can always think about assassinating them."