Putin torn apart by Margaret Thatcher in unearthed video clip - 'Trying to find a trace of humanity'

A clip of ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher launching a scathing attack on Vladimir Putin during his early days as Russian president has gone viral.

Thatcher hit out at Putin’s lack of humanity during the Kursk submarine disaster.

The event resulted in the deaths of all 118 people onboard after a series of explosions during a naval exercise resulted in the vessel sinking in the Arctic Ocean in 2000.

Putin, who was inaugurated for the first time in May 2000, faced criticism as he opted to continue his vacation in Sochi despite the ongoing crisis.

The video, recorded at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi on September 20, 2000, sees Thatcher hitting out at Putin for not knowing better.

In the resurfaced footage, she says: “Now we have the new Mr Putin. I looked at the pictures of Mr Putin, trying to look for a trace of humanity.

“I should, within a few weeks, have known better. Because you know what happened?

“They had the terrible tragedy of the submarine going down, straight to the floor.

“Whether there was an explosion inside or not, we don’t know.

“It was very interesting what happened, if there is a calamity in the West, the whole of the armed forces will go, they’ll take everything there immediately.

“The politicians will immediately get together and say ‘what help do we want, they can have anything we can give. We haven’t got the help [then] we’ll get it from somewhere else.’”

Putin met with the relatives of the Kursk sailors upon his return, but continued to face criticism over his perceived lack of action on the matter.

Putin's war in Ukraine has been met with widespread condemnation
Image: Reuters

Margaret Thatcher said Western governments would have felt “anxiety” as a result of the incident.

She said: “There would be anxiety because what mattered was not the submarine but the lives of those in. And [the] interesting thing was the new leader of the Soviet Union didn't act quickly. This was very soon the comment.

“He didn't try to mobilise anyone else. We didn't know whether we could help, or where to go help and send some of the small submarines just for such an occasion.

“That my friends was very, very revealing indeed.

"They still do not value human life in the same way that we do. And so all the help got there, I'm afraid, really rather late.

“And I am relieved in one way that Mr. Putin got so much criticism for what he should have done but didn't.

“And that again shows the Soviet Union and the peoples of the Soviet Union are very much aware of what could be done and that a great more deal could be done than is being done at the moment."

Putin has continued to face widespread criticism throughout his reign as Russian leader, with the February 24 invasion of Ukraine provoking a heavy-handed response of sanctions from nations worldwide.

The Russian President’s justification, which included weeding out Nazism in the nation, has been dismissed by Western leaders including US President Joe Biden.