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Politicians turn out for funeral of MP David Cairns | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Political leaders have turned out for the funeral of David Cairns, the Labour MP and former Scotland Office minister who died last week at the age of 44. | |
Labour leader Ed Miliband and Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray were among those who attended the service at St Patrick's Church in Greenock. | |
The Inverclyde MP died at the Royal Free Hospital in London after falling ill with acute pancreatitis in March. | The Inverclyde MP died at the Royal Free Hospital in London after falling ill with acute pancreatitis in March. |
He leaves behind his partner Dermot, father John and brother Billy. | |
Former chancellor Alistair Darling, ex-Scottish secretary Jim Murphy and shadow Scottish secretary Ann McKechin attended the service, as did many of Scotland's other Labour MPs. | |
'Tragic loss' | |
The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore also attended the funeral. | |
Speaking at the service, Mr Miliband paid tribute to his former colleague. | |
He said: "I think we can see from the great turnout from people here in Greenock, and people from across the political spectrum, the esteem in which David was held. | |
"It is a tragic loss at such a young age, a tragedy for his family, a bad loss for the Labour Party and he will be very badly missed. | |
"His blend of principle, warmth and passion for the issues he cared about was a very unusual one. | |
"He was a pioneer, the first former Catholic priest to sit in parliament - a law was changed to make it possible for him to enter parliament. | |
"He brought a sense of joy and optimism, and those things are sometimes in short supply in politics and so it'll be badly missed." | |
The order of service included a message from Mr Cairns' father and brother thanking his family, friends, and colleagues for coming to pay their respects. | |
The message said: "The whole family is immensely proud of everything David achieved throughout his life. | |
"We will all remember David for his warmth, generosity and good sense of humour. He will be sadly missed and remembered forever." | |
Public service | |
The order of service also featured pictures of Mr Cairns throughout his life, as a child praying before a church altar, playing on a scooter and playing cowboys and Indians, as a teenager reading a comic, as an MP outside the House of Commons, and as a minister at the door of No 10. | |
The service was delivered by Father John Morrison, who said that, as a politician, Mr Cairns "was a man of hope". | |
"His public service, his service to the wider community was characterised by a sincere and deep desire to give others opportunity and hope, the hope of a better tomorrow, the hope of a fairer future," he said. | |
"But, as David well knew, as his family knows, Christian hope goes beyond this life to the life of the world to come, and this is what we pray for today. | |
"In his political life, David was a dedicated parliamentarian, a committed minister and a passionate campaigner for social justice. | |
"He was an effective representative of his constituents, who was respected across the political spectrum and far beyond. | |
"David had time for everyone and had a wonderful sense of humour. Politics in Inverclyde and Westminster will be poorer without him." | |
Large numbers of local people attended and readings were given by children from Notre Dame High School, which Mr Cairns attended as a boy. | |
Government tribute | |
The Scottish government was represented at the funeral by Bruce Crawford. | |
In his role as minister for parliamentary business in the last parliament, Mr Crawford held regular discussions with Mr Cairns when he was a minister at the Scotland Office. | |
Mr Crawford carried the condolences of the Scottish government and Scottish National Party. | |
Former prime minister Tony Blair, who first appointed Mr Cairns as a minister in his government, gave a reading at a receiving mass at Mr Cairns' former church in Clapham on Thursday night. | |
John Reid also gave a reading at the mass, which was attended by the majority of Labour's UK MPs and many parliamentarians from other parties. | |
Mr Cairns was first elected to Westminster in 2001 as Labour MP for Greenock and Inverclyde. | |
Parliament had to reverse a law dating back to the 19th century which banned former Catholic priests from taking up a seat. | Parliament had to reverse a law dating back to the 19th century which banned former Catholic priests from taking up a seat. |
He resigned from the previous Labour government in September 2008 during the fall-out over Gordon Brown's leadership. | He resigned from the previous Labour government in September 2008 during the fall-out over Gordon Brown's leadership. |
Mr Cairns' death will lead to a by-election in Inverclyde, where he had a majority of 14,426 in last year's general election. |
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