Halifax: Former Labour MP Alice Mahon dies aged 85

Tributes have been paid to former Halifax MP Alice Mahon, who has died aged 85.

The former Labour MP represented the West Yorkshire constituency for 18 years from 1987 to 2005.

Ms Mahon was a fierce critic of then-leader and prime minister Sir Tony Blair and she opposed the war in Iraq.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "Alice Mahon was a tireless champion for the people of Halifax. My thoughts are with her friends and family."

In a statement to the Halifax Courier, the town's current Labour MP, Holly Lynch, said: "Alice Mahon always had a track record of fighting tirelessly for Halifax, and was much loved for it.

"She was a proud trade unionist and achieved a great deal both inside and outside of Parliament.

"My thoughts are very much with her family as I know she will be dearly missed as a mother and grandmother."

Ms Mahon stood down at the 2005 general election and quit Labour in 2009, saying she had "lost faith" in the party.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: "An utterly brilliant working-class campaigner, Alice was one of one of my best comrades in Parliament. I will miss her terribly."