PRIME Minister Tony Blair and former US President Bill Clinton led the tributes to former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam, who died yesterday at the age of 55.

Dr Mowlam, former MP for Redcar, never regained consciousness after hitting her head in a fall two weeks ago.

She had had difficulties with her balance as a result of radiotherapy for a brain tumour, diagnosed in 1997.

Dr Mowlam died peacefully in a Canterbury hospice at 8.10am, with her husband, Jon Norton, at her bedside, after her life support was withdrawn.

Mr Blair, who appointed her Northern Ireland Secretary in his first Cabinet in 1997, described her as one of the most remarkable and colourful personalities ever to enter politics.

He said she had transformed the politics of Northern Ireland by helping to broker the Good Friday Agreement, which led to power-sharing between Republicans and Unionists in the province.

He said she was "great company, utterly irreverent, full of life and fun", but added she was "one of the shrewdest political minds I ever encountered".

Mr Clinton said Dr Mowlam's plain-speaking ways and good humour were legendary. He said: "All of us who worked to support peace in Northern Ireland owe her our gratitude.

"Hillary and I cherished the times we spent together and will carry the warmth of her friendship always."

Tributes also came from Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who said she had been a force for good.

Tory leader Michael Howard praised her bravery, and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy spoke of her deep humanity.

Vera Baird, who succeeded Dr Mowlam as Labour MP for Redcar in 2001, said her death had come as an awful blow to the North-East.

She said: "She was an open-hearted, generous and a loving person. Mo took the people of Redcar to her heart and they took her to theirs. We loved and will miss her as if she were our family too, but we will never forget her."

Fellow Teesside MP Ashok Kumar described Dr Mowlam as the "true voice of Teesside".

Stephen Byers, chairman of the Northern Group of MPs and a former Cabinet colleague, said Dr Mowlam was "a national treasure".

Hilary Armstrong, Government Chief Whip and MP for Durham North, said: "Her bravery, her lack of pretension and her enthusiasm was infectious and I count myself lucky to have known her.