Skip to main content
Menu

Speaker announces death of MP Paul Goggins

8 January 2014 (updated on 8 January 2014)

Image of UK Parliament portcullis

Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP, has announced the death of Paul Goggins, Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East. The former Northern Ireland and Home Office minister had been a Member of Parliament since 1997. He was 60.

Mr Bercow told Members in the House of Commons Chamber:

"I regret to have to report to the House the death of the Rt Hon Paul Goggins, the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East.

"Paul was a most assiduous Member, serving as a Home Office and a Northern Ireland minister in the last government and most recently as a most distinguished member of the Intelligence and Security Committee.

"I am sure that Members in all parts of the House will join me in mourning the loss of a colleague and in extending our sympathy to Paul's wife Wyn, his children Matthew, Theresa and Dominic, his granddaughter Eve and his many friends and family.

"Paul and I entered the House together and I can honestly say I that have never heard an ill word spoken of him. Labour to his core he was yet the least tribal of colleagues, whether battling against poverty, campaigning successfully for the victims of mesothelioma, working for the rehabilitation of prisoners or striving for peace in Northern Ireland, Paul was the same, principled, eloquent and tireless but unfailingly courteous, measured and respectful. 

"He always played the ball, never the man or the woman. An outstanding public servant who came into politics for all the right reasons, Paul's passing is a loss on so many levels. The House has lost a valued colleague, his constituency a faithful representative, his party an outstanding ambassador and above all his family, a loving husband, father and grandfather."

This article was produced by the Commons Digital Outreach Team. Follow the @HouseofCommons on Twitter for updates on the UK House of Commons Chamber.