Former miner and veteran Labour politician Lord Mason dies at 91

Lord Roy Mason of Barnsley, veteran Labour politician and former MP, has died after a long illness at the age of 91.

A former miner, Mason served as defence secretary under Harold Wilson and Northern Ireland secretary in James Callaghan's government, at the height of the conflict in the province.

When he first entered Westminster, pipe-smoking Mason was only 28. He had started work in a south Yorkshire pit at the age of 14 and was a miner until he got elected as the MP for Barnsley in 1953.

He represented Barnsley until 1987 and then joined the House of Lords.

Dan Jarvis, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Barnsley Central, paid tribute, saying: "Roy was a formidable man, a pillar of our community and a giant of the Labour movement. He began his working life going down a mine at the age of just 14. He went on to serve our town as a member of parliament and our country as a minister around the cabinet table."

"His incredible journey and the courage and conviction with which he served the public are testament to the values that Roy fought for all his life - fairness, social justice and opportunity for all."

As the secretary of state for Northern Ireland from 1976 to 1979, Mason is widely credited with containing terrorist violence in the province. He adopted a zero-tolerance stance towards terrorism, determined to treat IRA as a security problem and not a political one.

Until he suffered a stroke a year ago, Mason was seen at least three days a week at the House of Lords.

Labour leader Ed Miliband told ITV News: "Roy Mason was a huge figure in the Labour movement, and he will be sorely missed. He passionately believed in the power of politics to change people's lives and spent his whole life trying to improve the lives of working people, none more so than his constituents in Barnsley."

"He spent years as a coal miner and later in life campaigned for official recognition for the Bevin Boys, the young men who were conscripted to work in the mines to aid Britain's war effort."

"Roy was a formidable man, with a deep passion for social justice. He never forgot where he came from, and was a true champion of equality and fairness. My thoughts are with Lady Mason and all Roy's family and friends."

He is survived by his wife Marjorie and two daughters.

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