Labour MP who was the longest serving female Member of Parliament

Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral at Westminster Abbey of veteran Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, who died on 17 April, 2008, aged 77. Ms Dunwoody, the MP for Crewe and Nantwich, was the longest serving female Member of Parliament.

Leading political figures paid their respects, with House of Commons leader Harriet Harman representing the government.Leading the tributes when Ms Dunwoody died, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "So many people will be so sad to hear of the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody.

"She was always her own person. She was fiercely independent. She was politics at its best - a great parliamentarian. She will be sadly missed in all parts of the Houses of Parliament."

Former Labour MP Tony Benn said he was shocked by the news.

"She was an independent-minded woman who always spoke her mind and will be badly missed," he said. "She was a very remarkable woman and a very powerful Member of Parliament.

"She was very strong on certain questions. She took a very independent stance on the European Union and was respected by the House. She was listened to with great attention from the House itself."

Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour Party and leader of the House of Commons, called Ms Dunwoody "an outstanding politician and a champion in the fight for social justice".

She added: "She was a strong parliamentarian and a committed campaigner who was admired and feared in equal measure.

"I will sorely miss her. We shall not see her like again."

There were also kind words from across the floor. Conservative Party chairman Caroline Spelman said: "Gwyneth Dunwoody's passing is a moment of great sadness for parliamentary democracy.

"The longest-serving female MP's independence of mind was greatly respected across all parties in Parliament.

"To many, Gwyneth was a kindly matriarch in the House and her warm personality and powerful rhetoric will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with her friends and family at this time."

MP Louise Ellman, who worked with Ms Dunwoody for 10 years at the Transport Select Committee, said: "I am deeply saddened and shocked by Gwyneth's passing. We have all lost a courageous and fearless woman who spoke up for the ordinary person.

"She was a brilliant parliamentarian and a genuine friend. She was a campaigner who never stopped until she achieved a result."

Ms Dunwoody's son, David, said his mother was a wonderful woman who stood up for the truth.

He told the BBC she had been ill for about a week and had been admitted to hospital.

"She died this evening, peacefully in a gentle and calm way," Mr Dunwoody said. "She was a woman who stood up and said what she believed was true and defended those who did not have many people to defend them. And she stood up for her principles, she was a wonderful woman."

Ms Dunwoody, who was highly respected on all sides of the Commons, joined the Labour Party in 1946 and first entered Parliament as the MP for Exeter in 1966.

From 1967 she was a minister on the former Board of Trade, before losing her seat in 1970.

She was elected MP for Crewe in 1974 - which became Crewe and Nantwich in a 1983 boundary change.

She was also a member of the European Parliament from 1974 to 1979, when MEPs were nominated by national parliaments.

Ms Dunwoody was frequently a thorn in the Government's side.

In 2001 she survived an attempt by Labour whips to remove her from the Transport Select Committee - which under her chairmanship often produced highly critical reports.

Backbench Labour MPs refused to support the move when it went to a vote in the Commons.