Memorial: She still had so much to give, says Blair

Former prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron were among hundreds of people to remember ex-culture secretary Tessa Jowell at a memorial service yesterday.

Baroness Jowell, a driving force behind the 2012 London Olympics, was commemorated at Southwark Cathedral in south London.

The Labour politician, who served under Mr Blair, died in May aged 70 after being diagnosed with the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme.

At the service, Baroness Jowell’s daughter Jessie recalled her mother’s “endless, heart-bursting, infinite love”.

She said: “To be loved like this since the moment we were born and to be her children is the single greatest privilege of our lives.”

Mr Blair said “not a day goes by” without him thinking Jowell.

Her love for her family and friends was “a beautiful thing to witness and a pleasure to be near”, he said. She was “unafraid to stand up for her friends, unafraid to stand up to them, but always standing by them”, he added.

The former Labour leader drew roars of laughter as he recalled how she had successfully persuaded him of the merits of hosting the London 2012 Olympics – her “brainchild”.

He said: “I resisted, she persisted, I desisted.”

His friend and former colleague grew in character in the months after of Baroness her diagnosis, he said. He went on: “Tessa died with so much still to give, but if life is measured not in how long you live but by how much you give, she lived a length of biblical proportions.”

He ended: “Tessa, we love you, we thank you and we will never, ever forget you.”

Also present were former Labour leader Ed Miliband, former home secretary Lord Blunkett, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Commons Speaker John Bercow and London 2012 chairman Lord Coe.

Mr Khan announced a walkway in the Olympic Park will be named in her honour.

Tessa Jowell