This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Paul Flynn, the Labour MP for Newport West, has died, his local association has announced. He was 84 and had served his constituency since 1987.

The association said on Twitter: “It’s with great sadness that we let you know that our MP, Paul Flynn, has died today.

“Paul is a hero to many of us in the Newport Labour family and we mourn for his family’s loss. We would ask that the privacy of Paul’s family is respected at this difficult time.”

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said Flynn would be “greatly missed”. He tweeted: “I’m very sad at the passing of my good friend Paul Flynn. He had such love for Newport, knowledge of radical South Wales history and a dry wit.

“He was an independent thinker who was a credit to the Labour Party. He will be greatly missed.”

Flynn, who represented Newport West for almost 32 years, held shadow cabinet posts during his parliamentary career but had not been active in the Commons in recent months.

The MP, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, was a strong advocate for the medicinal use of cannabis. He had announced in October that he intended to stand down for health reasons, telling Press Association he would “wait for a convenient time to go” and had “loved every minute” of his time in Westminster.

He said at the time: “It’s been a great, wonderful, rich experience. I lasted 31 years.”

The Welsh secretary, Alun Cairns, tweeted: “Very sorry to hear of Paul Flynn’s passing. My thoughts & prayers are with his family.

“He was an exceptional constituency MP & it was a privilege to work with him taking the Wales Bill through Parliament when he was Shadow SoS for Wales. We always had a warm & friendly relationship”.