“In a context where there is great ill feeling about her legacy, we have a situation where we seem to be expecting the nation to glorify that with a £10m funeral. [It] is asking for trouble.

“People with extreme views will use it to promote their political views.

“We should be marking her as a person in Grantham and with a more low-key, personal marking.”

But Bishop Ellis condemned the celebrations of Lady Thatcher’s death, labelling them “distasteful.”