Tory also served as chief secretary to the Treasury, trade and industry secretary and vice-president of European commission

Former home secretary Leon Brittan died at his home in London on Wednesday night, his family has announced. He was 75.

In a statement his family said he had been ill with cancer for some time and paid tribute to his “extraordinary commitment to British public life”.

During a long political career as a Tory minister and peer, Brittan also served as chief secretary to the Treasury, trade and industry secretary and vice-president of the European commission.

He was a particularly influential figure during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, taking a key role during the miners’ strike.

His cabinet career ended when he resigned over the Westland helicopter affair after it was revealed he had authorised the leaking of a letter which was critical of defence secretary Michael Heseltine, who also resigned.

John Gummer, the former Conservative cabinet minister who now sits in the upper house as Lord Deben, was the first to break the news, tweeting: “Very sad to see Leon Brittan has died. A good & honourable servant of his country. A decent and lasting friend. He will be sorely missed RIP.”

A statement from his family said: “It is with great regret that we announce the death of Leon Brittan. As a family, we should like to pay tribute to him as a beloved husband to Diana and brother to Samuel, and a supportive and loving stepfather to Katharine and Victoria, and step-grandfather to their children.

“We also 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.

“Leon passed away last night at his home in London after a long battle with cancer. We shall miss him enormously. There will be a private funeral service for family only, and a memorial service to be announced.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Leon Brittan at home in June 1983. Photograph: Stuart Clarke/Associated New/Rex

Brittan had largely retired from public life but last year returned to the headlines over allegations he did not deal properly with allegations of a 1980s Westminster paedophile ring when he was home secretary. The politician was accused of failing to act after he received a dossier in 1983 from Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens but a subsequent investigation by the Home Office said it could not find any evidence of a cover-up.

Last summer, he was questioned by police over a “serious allegation”, after reports that a woman accused him of raping her in 1967. The peer said the allegation was “wholly without foundation” after the Metropolitan police said a man in his 70s was interviewed under caution but was not arrested. Friends said his return to the public eye had caused a lot of stress.

On Thursday afternoon, a string of senior Conservatives paid tribute to the peer.

The prime minister said Brittan was a “dedicated and fiercely intelligent public servant”.

“As a central figure in Margaret Thatcher’s government, he helped her transform our country for the better by giving distinguished service,” David Cameron said. “He went on to play a leading role at the European Commission where he did so much to promote free trade in Europe and across the world. More recently, he made an active contribution to the House of Lords. My thoughts are with Leon’s family and friends at this sad time for them.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband said his death was “sad news”.

William Hague, the leader of the Commons, told parliament: “I hope it’s appropriate for me to inform the house that while we’ve been having this debate news has emerged that Lord Brittan of Spennithorne, Leon Brittan, has passed away, and many of us who have known him a long time know that he has been ill for many months, but it is a sad moment to receive this news,” he said.

“He was, as the house will understand, my predecessor as member of parliament for Richmond in Yorkshire, which is why I particularly want to pay tribute to him as a former member of this house and former home secretary, and he was a kind, assiduous and brilliant man and I know the whole house will join me in sending our deepest condolences to his wife, Diana, at this difficult time.”

Speaking on Sky News, Lord Heseltine recalled the Westland affair that led to his resignation and that of Brittan from the cabinet in 1986.

“It was all a technical thing about whether he’d seen a letter; there was no disgrace to him or anything like that,” he said. “It was just very, very bad luck he got caught up in something he just didn’t have the stomach for.”

The peer added: “I remember him as a very talented and highly respected minister. But in later life, our friendship remained. His wife came to stay with us, he invited us to Covent Garden, so I saw him in many different roles, minister, friend and it’s very sad to hear this news. I think you should remember him as a man of integrity, a man of great ability, a man of determination, because he didn’t have an easy time getting his seat.”

Conservative former chancellor Lord Lamont said Brittan was a “very kind man, a shy man, a good man, and I am very, very sad to hear the news of his death”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Leon Brittan and John Gummer at the Conservative party conference in Brighton, October 1984. Photograph: John Downing/Getty Images

“He and I were friends for over 50 years,” he said. “I knew him first when I was a student. He was by far and away the most brilliant of his generation, always destined to a glittering career … He has been very ill for quite some months, and he was extremely brave and stoical during his illness.”

Others noted that the death of Brittan would be a loss to the government’s child abuse inquiry as he was due to have been questioned about the role of the Home Office in investigating claims made at the time.

Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale who first named Brittan in the House of Commons as being accused of failing to investigate allegations of child abuse, said: “Firstly, I’d like to offer my condolences to Sir Leon’s family for their personal loss. However, Sir Leon’s untimely death is also a loss to the inquiry that the home secretary ordered into establishment child abuse. Only this morning we were debating the lack of progress in the inquiry and Sir Leon is someone who should have faced questions and been compelled to give evidence to the inquiry over his role as Home Secretary in the 1980s when a dossier containing allegations of establishment child abuse was handed to him.

“If we’re going to get to the truth of what happened then Theresa May needs to start making progress. A lot of the people who need to give evidence are in advanced years and we’re running out of time.”