MP Gwyneth Dunwoody dies

Labour's longest serving woman MP, Gwyneth Dunwoody, who had a reputation for fierce independence, has died.

Her son David Dunwoody said his mother passed away on Thursday evening after being admitted to hospital last week with an undisclosed illness. She was 77.

"She was a woman who stood up and said what she believed was true and defended those who don't have many people to defend them," he told the BBC.

Gordon Brown, who is currently on a three-day tour of the U.S, said: "She was always her own person. She was always fiercely independent. She was politics at its best -- a great parliamentarian.

"(She was) a great expert on transport and I think she will be sadly missed in all parts of the House of Commons. For her constituents in Crewe she was a dedicated, committed member of parliament who would do everything for them."