Wayne David, MP for Caerphilly and Wales Office Minister, has paid tribute to the former Labour leader Michael Foot who passed away today aged 96.
Mr David said: “Michael Foot was one of the most significant politicians of our time. He was a great orator, a towering intellectual, a wonderful writer and a man of principle and integrity.
“As a young man I well remember the encouragement I received from him and the inspiration I gained from reading his two volume biography of Aneurin Bevan. The Labour movement has today lost one of its great figures.”
Former Ebbw Vale MP Mr Foot was elected Labour leader in 1980, following James Callaghan.
He stood down after the heavy 1983 general election defeat to Margaret Thatcher.
Full BBC report on Mr Foot’s death.