Former chancellor Lord Denis Healey has died aged 98, his family said.
The Labour peer served in Number 11 during the 1974-79 government and became the party’s deputy leader in 1980.
He died peacefully at his home in Sussex this morning after a short illness.
Politicians from across the spectrum paid tribute to Lord Healey.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Denis Healey was a Labour giant whose record of service to party and country stands as his testament. All our thoughts are with his family.”
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, whose father Tony unsuccessfully ran against Lord Healey for the party’s deputy leadership, said: “Very sorry to hear that Denis Healey has died. All our thoughts are with his family on their loss.
Chancellor George Osborne described his predecessor as a “giant of the Labour movement”.
Lord Healey was in Number 11 when the government was forced to go to the International Monetary Fund for a loan as the UK economy teetered on the brink of collapse in 1976.
Mr Osborne said Lord Healey had been in office “in the most difficult circumstances”.
