The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has paid tribute to former MP Candy Atherton calling her a tireless campaigner for social justice.

He said in a statement: "I am sad to hear of the sudden death of Candy Atherton. Candy was a proud champion of Cornwall, first as an MP and more recently as a councillor, and was instrumental to winning vital Objective 1 EU funding for Cornwall.

"I knew Candy for many years and remember her time as Mayor of Islington with great affection. She had a disarming sense of humour; I remember her joking that when she won her seat in 1997, she had outrun the incumbent MP and Olympian Seb Coe.

"I saw her most recently this summer, when we shared a platform at a wonderful rally for the NHS in Heartlands, Cornwall. Our thoughts are with her family and friends. We will all remember her as a warm person and a tireless campaigner for social justice."