Former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn spends fourth night in hospital after being taken ill on Saturday
The veteran leftwinger and former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn has spent a fourth night in hospital.
Benn, 88, who suffered a stroke in 2012, is understood to be seriously ill. A family spokesman said: "Tony Benn was taken to hospital on Saturday evening after feeling unwell. He is currently receiving treatment."
Benn spent more than five decades in parliament and served in the cabinets of Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan.
He entered parliament in November 1950 and finally stood down as an MP in 2001, so he could "spend more time on politics".
During his career in the House of Commons he was widely respected for his adherence to his principles, even by those who disagreed with him. His renunciation of his hereditary peerage helped in the passage of the Peerage Act 1963, which allows newly inherited peerages to be disclaimed.
He also campaigned against EU membership, oversaw the development of Concorde, narrowly missed out on election as Labour deputy leader in 1981, and was instrumental in the party's 1983 manifesto.
Even after stepping down from parliament in 2001, he has remained a significant figure in the Labour movement, in particular for his staunch opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. He was one of the speakers at the February 2003 rally in London against the war, said by police to be the UK's biggest ever demonstration. Benn remains president of the Stop the War coalition, which has wished him a speedy recovery, describing him as "arguably the most popular UK politician of all time".
After his 2012 stroke, Benn spent much of the subsequent year in hospital. In an interview with the Mirror last year he said he was "not frightened about death. I don't know why but I just feel that at a certain moment your switch is switched off and that's it. And you can't do anything about it."
He was admitted to hospital again in September last year on the advice of his GP after feeling unwell.
His son, Hilary, is the Labour MP for Leeds Central and shadow secretary of state for communities and local government. His granddaughter Emily stood unsuccessfully as an MP in 2010. Benn's wife, Caroline, died in 2000.