ED MILIBAND led tributes to one of the region’s best known MPs, Sir Stuart Bell, whose death was announced on Saturday.

Sir Stuart, 74, who served as MP for Middlesbrough from 1983, died at his Linthorpe home surrounded by his family, following a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

The son of a County Durham miner, Mr Bell was awarded a knighthood for services to Parliament and the Legion d’Honneur by the French government for his services to Anglo-French relations.

Labour Party leader Mr Miliband said: “Sir Stuart’s death will come as a huge blow to his family and many friends and colleagues.

“He spent the long years of opposition fighting for the Labour Party to regain power and championed, throughout his life, the many causes that were close to his heart.

“He resigned from the opposition front bench to pursue his calls for justice for the children and families of the Cleveland child abuse scandal.

“He served the House of Commons and the Church of England as the Church Commissioner, a position he held for 13 years and was a passionate campaigner on European issues.

“Stuart was fiercely proud to represent Middlesbrough.

“Stuart was a dedicated family man and had a formidable partnership with his wife Margaret.”

Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon said: “To say that I am shocked to learn of Sir Stuart’s death would be a considerable understatement, and my thoughts are with his wife, Margaret, and the whole family.

“I have known Stuart Bell for more than ten years, and since I became elected mayor, we have supported one another through thick and thin.

“He has done a great deal for me personally and for the town as a whole, and it is common knowledge that I held him in the highest regard.

“He was extremely personable and knowledgeable, and I will not forget how much I enjoyed seeing and listening to him.”

Tom Blenkinsop, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, James Wharton, the Tory MP for Stockton South and Ian Swales, the Lib Dem MP for Redcar, all paid tribute and expressed their sorrow at the news.

Sir Stuart was born in the former mining village of High Spen, in north-west Durham, where his father worked as a miner for 51 years. A published novelist, shadow minister with various portfolios, he served for 13 years from 1997 as Second Church Estates Commissioner, handling church-state relations.