London - Winston Churchill was the greatest British prime minister of the 20th century, according to a BBC survey. The Conservative leader, whose leadership and speeches inspired Britain through the second World War beat the last Liberal prime minister, David Lloyd George, into second place and Churchill's successor, Labour's Clement Atlee, into third.
Twenty prominent historians, politicians and commentators were asked by BBC Radio 4's The Westminster Hour to rank the 19 prime ministers from Lord Salisbury at the turn of the century through to Mr John Major in the 1990s. Baroness Thatcher came fifth.