Oldest MP dies at 82

Labour MP Piara Khabra has died at the age of 82.

The Ealing Southall MP was the oldest in the Commons.

First elected in 1992, Khabra was one of a small number of black and Asian MPs.

A Punjabi Sikh, he served in the Indian Armed Corps during the Second World War before coming to Britain in 1959 and becoming a primary school teacher and chairman of the Indian Workers Association in Southall.

Khabra was also an ex-communist and member of the SDP for two years in the 1980s.

While a quiet and only occasional contributor in the Commons chamber, he served on the members' interests, international development and constitutional affairs select committees.

Labour Party chairman Hazel Blears said: "Piara was a stalwart of the Labour movement and a strong representative for his constituency.

"He will be sorely missed in his community, in Parliament and in the Labour Party."

And in the Commons Tony Blair said he was a "tireless campaigner, particularly on the issues of international development and racial equality."

The death will also spark the first by-election of the Gordon Brown era, an early challenge for the new Labour leader in a seat where the Liberal Democrats are likely to mount a robust challenge.