Mo Mowlam dies
Former Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam has died at the age of 55.
The hugely popular former Labour MP for Redcar was admitted to hospital at the end of last month, and was transferred a few days ago to the Pilgrims hospice in Canterbury.
Ms Mowlam was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1997 and although she made a full recovery at the time, it is thought she had fallen ill again recently.
She stood down as an MP in 2001 but since then her popularity and her public standing, particularly in campaigning against the war in Iraq, has continued to grow.
Much of this is due to her no-nonsense and reliably outspoken nature, which saw her calling for talks with al-Qaida and gamely conducting a marriage ceremony for two dogs on a talkshow.
Ms Mowlam won much admiration for her determination to continue as Northern Ireland secretary despite her illness, which caused her to lose her hair – she would even throw her wig on the table to show just how much she would not be stopped doing her job.
Her role in securing the Good Friday agreement will not be forgotten, nor will her extraordinary visit to the Maze prison in 1998 to talk to loyalist prisoners and persuade them to return to negotiating talks.
Cabinet colleague Clare Short said it was this informality – which saw her kick off her shoes in official meetings – that contributed so much to her success in Northern Ireland.
It was “like a breath of fresh air”, Ms Short told BBC News 24, adding: “She was never pompous but serious about politics, and very serious about the Northern Ireland peace process.”
Ms Mowlam was moved out of her job against her will a year later, however, making way for Peter Mandelson to take over the Northern Ireland brief.
She became the Cabinet Office minister, taking responsibility for drug policy and acting as Tony Blair’s cabinet “enforcer”. She was the first minister in charge of drugs policy to admit she had tried them, adding that “unlike President Clinton, I did inhale”.
But her relationship with the prime minister had become increasingly distant in recent years, with Ms Mowlam, concerned about Mr Blair’s increasingly ‘presidential’ style, speaking openly against the war in Iraq.
However, today Mr Blair issued a moving statement praising his former cabinet colleague, describing her as “one of the most remarkable and colourful personalities ever to come into politics”.
“Great company, utterly irreverent, full of life and fun. Yet behind that extraordinary front presented to the world, was one of the shrewdest political minds I ever encountered,” he said.
“She was a natural politician, could read a situation and analyse and assess it as fast as anyone. She was a key architect of New Labour but had support across the spectrum.
“She was a totally modern social democrat but was equally at home with a traditional trade union audience. The only thing she couldn’t handle was stuffiness of any kind and that was because she didn’t want to.”
The prime minister extended his thoughts to Ms Mowlam’s husband Jon, her two children and the rest of her family, adding: “Mo was a complete one-off. We were lucky to know her.”
