Video: Tributes to Labour veteran Tony Benn, dead at 88

Labour leader Ed Miliband described the former figurehead of the Labour left as an “iconic figure” and said the party had lost a “champion of the powerless, a great parliamentarian and a conviction politician”.

Prime Minister David Cameron said that Mr Benn ensured there was “never a dull moment”, even for those who disagreed with every word he said.

First elected to parliament in 1950, Mr Benn renounced a peerage in order to remain in the House of Commons and was an MP for more than 50 years, serving in the cabinets of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan and staging a bitterly divisive battle with Denis Healey for the Labour deputy leadership as the champion of the left in 1981.

He famously retired from parliament in 2001 saying he wanted to “spend more time on politics” and won a new status as a national treasure touring the country to speak to packed audiences in venues from town halls to West End theatres and the Glastonbury festival. Well into his 80s, he was a familiar and popular figure at demonstrations and anti-war rallies.

In a statement released early today, his children Stephen, Hilary, Melissa and Joshua said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that our father Tony Benn died peacefully early this morning at his home in west London surrounded by his family.

“We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the NHS staff and carers who have looked after him with such kindness in hospital and at home.

“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.”

Mr Miliband paid tribute to an “iconic figure of our age”.

Mr Miliband said: “Tony Benn spoke his mind and spoke up for his values. Whether you agreed with him or disagreed with him, everyone knew where he stood and what he stood for.

“For someone of such strong views, often at odds with his party, he won respect from across the political spectrum. This was because of his unshakeable beliefs and his abiding determination that power and the powerful should be held to account.

“He believed in movements and mobilised people behind him for the causes he cared about, often unfashionable ones. In a world of politics that is often too small, he thought big about our country and our world.

“Above all, as I had cause to know, he was an incredibly kind man. I did work experience with him at the age of 16. I may have been just a teenager but he treated me as an equal. It was the nature of the man and the principle of his politics.

“I saw him for the last time a couple of weeks ago in hospital. He may have been ailing in body but was as sharp as ever in mind. As I left he said to me ‘well, old son. Let’s have a proper talk when you have more time’.”