Former Labour Prime Minister Lord Callaghan has died on the eve of his 93rd birthday.
 
He passed away at home in East Sussex, just 11 days after he watched his wife Audrey die aged 91.
 
Lord Callaghan, who leaves a son and two daughters, was the longest living former British PM in history.
 
He entered Downing Street in 1976 after the resignation of Harold Wilson. Prime Minister Tony Blair called him a "giant" of the Labour movement.
 
He held each of the major offices of Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister during his career and became Lord Callaghan of Cardiff in 1987.
 
     
The Labour party and the country will be poorer without him
Lord Hattersley
 
Chancellor Gordon Brown said the former PM would be "mourned throughout the world".
 
"It was a commitment to public service that brought Jim Callaghan into Parliament in 1945, and while Jim rose to the top he never forgot his roots."
 
Former cabinet colleague Lord Hattersley said his first reaction on hearing the news was "immense sadness".
 
     
He was always full of warmth and wisdom
Liberal Democrats leader Charles Kennedy
 
"It was not a major surprise - I knew what a blow the death of his wife Audrey was a few days ago," he said.
 
"He was a decent kindly man who helped me and my generation of politicians immensely.
 
"The Labour party and the country will be poorer without him."
 
Conservative peer Lord Heseltine said that despite their political differences, he and Lord Callaghan became friends.
 
"You don't get to the premiership unless you have a streak of determination," he said......
 
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4385047.stm