Egypt’s former first lady Suzanne Mubarak was in a stable condition and under the control of police yesterday, a day after reportedly suffering a heart attack, the health minister said.

The 70-year-old wife of ousted president Hosni Mubarak had been placed in intensive care last Friday after state television reported she suffered a heart attack when she was remanded in custody in a corruption probe.

“Her health is stable and she is currently under the police’s control,” Health Minister Ashram Hatem said, quoted by the official MENA news agency.

State television had reported she was moved to the intensive care unit of a Sharm el-Sheikh hospital, where her husband Hosni Mubarak is after he also reportedly suffered a heart attack when he was detained on April 13.

The public prosecutor had ordered the former president to be transferred to a military hospital and then to a Cairo prison, but the decision has been put off.

Justice Minister Aziz al-Gindi yesterday pledged the ousted strongman would see the inside of a prison cell once his health improves, saying “the law is applied to everyone, and no one is exempt,” according to MENA.

Mohammed Fathallah, who heads the hospital, had said in a statement handed to reporters that Mrs Mubarak had suffered a “suspected heart attack and a sharp increase in blood pressure... She will be kept under observation.”

The news came hours after the Illicit Gains Authority ordered Suzanne Mubarak’s detention for 15 days on charges of illegal acquisition of wealth.

Preparations had been underway to move her from the hospital to Qanater women’s prison outside Cairo, a senior security official told state media.

She was due to be transferred to Qanater by plane, he said.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported yesterday that the former first lady has been placed under medical observation for 24 hours before any decision is made to move her.

She was interrogated in a hospital waiting room, close to where her husband has been in custody since when he also reportedly suffered a heart attack during questioning.

It was the first detention order for Mrs Mubarak, who had been questioned with her husband on Thursday night by the illicit gains department.

The former first couple are accused of having abused their position to enrich themselves illegally.

The half-Welsh Suzanne was seen as the driving force behind plans to have her son Gamal take over the presidency from his father, a highly unpopular prospect in Egypt.