Passionate fighter for the oppressed, Bernie Grant MP, died of a heart attack, aged 56, on 8 April, 2000.

He was born in Guyana but emigrated to Britain where he made his home in London , first becoming well-known as the chairman of Haringey Council, and later being elected MP for Tottenham. He went on to lead a number of groups dedicated to widening the rights and removing barriers faced by oppressed sections of society, particularly black people.

His brand of politics was seen by the press and his opponents as the so-called “loony left” fringe of the Labour movement.

But Mr Grant’s style won him more admirers than enemies, as he tackled policies on racism, gender discrimination, disability rights and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant was born on 17 February, 1944, in Georgetown , Guyana , and was the second of five children born to his parents, who were both involved in teaching.

He left school after passing his O-levels, and went into chemistry before leaving for England to join his family.

His work as an international telephonist brought him into the world of the trade unions, where he quickly became a big noise in the local authority workers’ union, NUPE. He joined the Tottenham Labour Party in 1973 and was elected a local councillor in 1978, becoming deputy leader inside a year.

He was leader by 1985 and was responsible for a number of equality policies, getting widespread media coverage for the first time in 1985, at the time of the Broadwater Farm Estate riots, which claimed the life of a policeman.

He became an MP in 1987, attending the state opening of parliament in full African dress.

His work in parliament included founding the Parliamentary Black Caucus, chairing the All Party Group on Race and Community, and the British Caribbean Group. He became a member of the Select Committee on International development, was appointed to the Home Secretary’s Race Relations Forum in 1998, and founded the standing committee on racism in Europe .

The last 10 years of his life saw him begin to succumb to the effects of chronic diabetes, which began to disable him, leaving him less time for his work in the House of Commons.

One of his final battles was to establish an arts and cultural facility for his constituents, something which was completed after his death to become The Bernie Grant Centre.

When he died, he left his wife, Sharon, and the three children from his first marriage.