The British public have long used the pop music charts as a form of protest - remember God Save The Queen - and now they appearintent on forcing the BBC to play "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead," over 70 years after it first appeared in the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz, following a Facebook campaign to get it to number 1 following the death of Margaret Thatcher.

The song is already in the top ten in the midweek charts, with more than 10,000 copies sold, according to Media Guardian, following the death of the former prime minister on Monday, aged 87.

The Facebook group is called "Make Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead number one the week Thatcher dies", and it launched on Monday.

The Official Charts Company told the Guardian that the song, credited to Judy Garland, had been purchased more than 10,600 times by midnight on Tuesday.

According to the Daily Mail, the BBC said: 'The Official Chart Show on Sunday is a historical and factual account of what the British public has been buying and we will make a decision about playing it when the final chart positions are clear.'

The news came as opposition built ahead of next weeks ceremonial funeral of Margaret Thatcher, which will have a strong Falkland Islands theme.

The Labour MP Glenda Jackson was condemned last night after she used a special 'tribute' debate in the House of Commons to launch an attack on Baroness Thatcher's legacy.

Ms Jackson, an Oscar-winning actress turned politician, conceded Lady Thatcher was of 'female gender' but said: 'A woman? Not on my terms.'