Post date: Mar 14, 2014 1:34:59 PM
David Cameron pays tribute to veteran British Labour politician, Tony Benn, who became one of Britain's pre-eminent left-wingers.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (MARCH 14, 2014) (UK POOL) - Tony Benn who was a member of Britain's parliament for 50 years and a cabinet minister for 11 years died on Friday (March 14), aged 88. He had been born into the aristocracy and became a divisive figure at the peak of his career. In later years he became a public favourite as a straight talker.
In a statement, his four children said Benn had died peacefully early on Friday at his home in westLondon surrounded by his family after being seriously ill."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," they said in the statement published by the BBC.
British Prime Minister David Cameron described Benn's death as "a sad day for British politics".
"The country has lost a great campaigner, a great writer and someone who I am sure whose words will be followed keenly for many, many years to come," added Cameron.
In file footage, Benn is seen attending a rally, along with other celebrities, in support of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, in February 2011. He took to the podium during that event and said, "The Swedes are trying to get Julian back to Sweden. Now of course if he goes back to Sweden, then the Americans will go in and get him extradited back to the United States and like Bradley Manning, who began this work, he could easily be put in solitary confinement and denied a fair trial and then the whole WikiLeaks story could be ended and we'd be back to the secrecy that we are protesting against now".
In further file footage Benn is attending a march in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in September 1981. At the time, Britain's opposition Labour Party had been split by a battle between its Left and Right wings. The deputy leader of the party, Dennis Healey, was being challenged for his post by left-wing contender, Tony Benn. At the Birmingham rally, Benn was cheered while Mr. Healey was heckled by sections of the crowd.
Tributes from politicians of all sides have been quick to flow for Benn since the announcement of his death. Benn's father and grandfather were politicians and his son Hilary was a cabinet minister in the last Labour government. Benn's granddaughter Emily is also pursuing a political career.