Tributes as Labour MP Dunwoody dies

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Ms Dunwoody, the MP for Crewe and Nantwich, was the longest serving female Member of Parliament. Her son David said she died peacefully on Thursday night.

Leading the tributes, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "So many people will be so sad to hear of the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody."

He added: "She was always her own person. She was fiercely independent. She was politics at its best - a great parliamentarian.

"She will be sadly missed in all parts of the Houses of Parliament."

Former Labour MP Tony Benn said he was shocked by the news. "She was an independent-minded woman who always spoke her mind and will be badly missed," he said.

There were also kind words from across the floor. Conservative Party chairman Caroline Spelman said: "Gwyneth Dunwoody's passing is a moment of great sadness for parliamentary democracy. The longest-serving female MP's independence of mind was greatly respected across all parties in Parliament."

Ms Dunwoody joined the Labour Party in 1946 and first entered Parliament as the MP for Exeter in 1966. From 1967 she was a minister on the former Board of Trade, before losing her seat in 1970.

She was elected MP for Crewe in 1974 - which became Crewe and Nantwich in a 1983 boundary change. She was also a member of the European Parliament from 1974 to 1979, when MEPs were nominated by national parliaments.