Tony Benn passes away aged 88
Tony Benn, the veteran left-wing politican, has passed away at the age of 88, his family have said.
They've issued a statement this morning, confirming Benn died peacefully early this morning at his home in west London, surrounded by his family.
Thanking the NHS staff and carers who have looked after him, they said:
We will miss above all his love which has sustained us throughout our lives. But we are comforted by the memory of his long, full and inspiring life and so proud of his devotion to helping others as he sought to change the world for the better.
The former cabinet minister, who was born Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, was admitted to hospital last month, seriously ill.
Benn was first elected to Parliament in November 1950, and served under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan.
An enduringly-influential figure in the Labour party, he stepped down from Parliament in 2001 – in his own words, “to spend more time on politics” – continuing to be a popular and impressive public speaker and anti-war campaigner.
Prime Minister David Cameron said of Benn this morning that he was "a magnificent writer, speaker, diarist and campaigner, with a strong record of public and political service. There was never a dull moment listening to him, even when you disagreed with everything he said."
Labour leader Ed Miliband called Benn "a champion of the powerless, a great Parliamentarian and a conviction politician", adding, "with Tony you knew where he stood and what he stood for."