Former Home Secretary Leon Brittan has died after a long battle with cancer, his family have said.

The 75-year-old was once one of five Jewish cabinet members in Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.

He died at his home in London on Wednesday night.

In a statement his family said: "We salute his extraordinary commitment to British public life as a member of parliament, minister, cabinet minister, European Commissioner and peer - together with a distinguished career in law, and latterly in business."

In June last year the former politician was forced to explain what he knew about concerns over suspected paedophilia in Westminster in the 1980s when he was Home Secretary.

It had also emerged that he was questioned by police following an allegation of rape, which he said was “wholly without foundation”.