Phil Woolas, a former Labour minister and MP, has died at the age of 66, his family and close friends have announced.
Mr Woolas, who died in the early hours of Saturday, served as a minister in both the Blair and Brown governments, and as MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth between 1997 and 2010.
A statement attributed to his family and close friends announcing his death said he had been battling brain cancer for more than a year.
“Phil Woolas, former Labour MP and minister, has died aged 66”, the statement said.
“For more than a year he battled the brain cancer, glioblastoma. He leaves his wife Tracey, his sons Josh and Jed and a new grandson, and many friends and former colleagues who will all miss him greatly.
“Before entering Parliament, Phil was NUS president, TV producer and GMB union communications director.
“He served as MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth from 1997 to 2010, and a minister in both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments – appointed successively: whip, deputy leader of the Commons, local government minister, environment minister and immigration minister.”
The statement from his friends and family added: “From 2011 onwards, Phil set up and ran his own political and risk consultancy.
“For more than 25 years, Phil was the chair of The Ace Centre, an Oldham charity helping people with communication difficulties, that he led to become a national charity leader in assistive technology for severely disabled people.”
In 2010, Mr Woolas became the first MP in nearly 100 years to be stripped of his Parliamentary seat for making false statements about his opponent during a bitter election battle for the marginal seat of Oldham East and Saddleworth.
The landmark court ruling found him to have knowingly made false statements about his Lib-Dem opponent’s alleged support for Muslim extremists, leading High Court judges to order a fresh election.
Another notable moment in his career at the Home Office saw the former MP confronted by actor Joanna Lumley during a live press conference to make concessions over the rights of Gurkhas to remain in the UK.
