Tributes paid to former Tory minister James Brokenshire

BORIS Johnson has paid tribute to James Brokenshire as the “nicest, kindest and most unassuming of politicians” after the death of the former government minister at the age of 53.

Mr Brokenshire, pictured right, who served as Northern Ireland secretary and security minister, had been suffering from lung cancer and died on Thursday evening, a statement from his family said.

The Prime Minister said he was “desperately sad” to hear the news, and the flags in New Palace Yard in the Palace of Westminster were lowered to half-mast in tribute.

Mr Johnson said on Twitter: “He served with particular distinction in the Home Office and as security minister. If the Government needed something done well and speedily – and sensibly explained – James was the man to do it.”

He added: “His fight against cancer was heroic, and it is a measure of his resolve that he came back from a first bout with the disease to serve in government again. He will be missed by all who knew him. Our thoughts are with Cathy and his family.”

Mr Brokenshire, Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, first announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018 and he underwent surgery to remove the upper lobe of his right lung.

His family said he had been in hospital since Sunday and his condition had rapidly deteriorated. In a statement, they said: “James was not only a brilliant government minister as both security and immigration minister at the Home Office and secretary of state at the Northern Ireland Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, but a dedicated constituency MP, first for Hornchurch from 2005 to 2010, and then for Old Bexley and Sidcup for the past 11 years. But, most importantly, he was a loving father to his three children, a devoted husband to Cathy and a faithful friend to so many.”