The dignity and courage of Tessa Jowell was praised by politicians across the spectrum on Sunday, after her family revealed she had died of brain cancer.

Paying tribute to Jowell, Downing Street announced it would double its investment in brain cancer research to £40m and roll out a new gold standard of tests for brain cancer to all NHS hospitals, a key focus of Jowell’s campaigning in the last months of her life.

The prime minister, Theresa May, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and the former prime minister Tony Blair led tributes to Jowell on Sunday morning, alongside former cabinet colleagues and MPs who praised her work on Sure Start, a flagship scheme to support children in the early years, her success in bringing the Olympic Games to London and her later campaigning on cancer research.

Theresa May (@theresa_may) The dignity and courage with which Dame Tessa Jowell confronted her illness was humbling and it was inspirational. My sympathies to her loving family - Dame Tessa’s campaigning on brain cancer research is a lasting tribute to a lifetime of public service. pic.twitter.com/4KIULm0Stb

Dame Tessa was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour in May last year. She suffered a haemorrhage on Friday and had been in a coma until her death on Saturday, a spokesman for the family said.

Jowell died peacefully at the family home near Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire just after 10pm on Saturday, with her husband, David Mills, and their children, Jess and Matthew, by her side.

Announcing her death “with great sadness, and an enormous sense of loss”, her family said Jowell had recently undergone some new treatment, but the tumour had suddenly progressed very quickly.

Her daughter-in-law, Ella Mills, said Jowell was “lying in Matt, his sister Jess, and their Dad’s arms, as they told her that she would live forever in the centre of their souls”. Mills, who runs the food blog Deliciously Ella, said Jowell was the “warmest and kindest soul ... and she achieved an extraordinary amount – I know her family are the thing that made her most proud.”

May said Jowell had “faced her illness with dignity and courage” and said she hoped the action on brain cancer the government would now take would “form part of the lasting legacy of an inspirational woman.”

Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) Devastating to hear the news of Tessa Jowell's death. From Councillor to Cabinet Minister, her achievements were huge, including helping to bring the Olympics to London. Her strength in raising awareness of her illness and fighting for better treatment for others inspired us all

Corbyn said Jowell’s “achievements were huge, including helping to bring the Olympics to London”, and said her fight for better brain cancer treatment had been an inspiration.

Tributes flooded in from her former cabinet colleagues, including Blair, David Blunkett and Harriet Harman. The former prime minister said: “She was the most wise of counsellors, the most loyal and supportive of colleagues, and the best of friends. There was no one like Tessa and no one better. I will miss her more than I can say.”

Blunkett paid tribute to Jowell’s role in the creation of New Labour, as well as her Sure Start programme, which she called her proudest achievement and which led to the creation of 3,500 children’s centres across the country.

The 'people politician': Tessa Jowell obituary Read more

“It will be Tessa as a person who I will remember,” he said. “There when people needed her, both personally and also with her political hat on, and with her bravery over the last year, always thinking of others.”

As culture secretary in Blair’s government, Jowell oversaw the UK’s drive to win the 2012 Olympic Games for London. She was one of only a handful of MPs to have served as a minister during the whole of Blair’s and Gordon Brown’s premierships.

She stepped down as MP for Dulwich and West Norwood in 2015 and ran as a candidate for the Labour nomination for mayor of London, but was beaten by Sadiq Khan. The mayor called her “a friend, a colleague, a champion of Labour values and a towering figure in London and national politics”.



MP Helen Hayes, who succeeded Jowell in Dulwich and West Norwood, called her legacy extraordinary. “Tessa is much-loved across the constituency, for the things she delivered but perhaps even more for her deep empathy and compassion, and the way that she worked collaboratively to empower others,” she said. “Life is now better and fairer in our part of south London because Tessa put people first.”

Tessa Jowell: ‘I’m most proud of setting up Sure Start’ Read more

Jowell announced she had brain cancer last September. In a statement, she said: “I’m in treatment at the moment ... and look forward to finding ways to make better, longer lives for people with cancer.”

She was hailed as an inspiration during a cancer debate in the Commons last month. Jowell had come to the House of Commons to meet the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and his Labour shadow, Jon Ashworth, to continue her campaign for better support and access to clinical trials for brain cancer patients and more research.

Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) Devastated to hear we have lost @TessaJowell. She was quite simply the bravest and the best & brought magic to whatever she touched whether SureStarts, London 2012 or campaigning for those who like her were battling with incurable cancer. RIP

Hunt said he was devastated to hear about her death. “Tessa Jowell was one of those few politicians who could inspire and unite across party lines,” he said. “We were all moved by her bravery and selfless campaigning in her final months, and are determined to honour her life and memory with the action on brain cancer that she fought so hard for.

“At this agonising time, I hope her family can draw comfort from the fact that her legacy will be lives saved and heartbreak averted for thousands of other families.”

In January, Jowell received a standing ovation – breaking parliamentary protocol – in the House of Lords after giving a moving speech about her cancer in which she urged peers to support an international initiative to share resources, research and new treatments.

Play Video 4:30 Tessa Jowell: former Labour MP delivers moving speech on brain cancer diagnosis – video

Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England and a friend of Jowell’s, said her campaigning spirit had never wavered. “More recently even under the most difficult of circumstances, her national call-to-arms on brain cancer meant she ‘did not go gentle into that good night’,” he said. “Instead she leaves a deep legacy with the potential to benefit many thousands of other cancer patients long into the future.”

Jowell’s family said a small private funeral would be held soon, as well as a public memorial at a later date.

The health secretary also tweeted his condolences, praising Jowell’s huge achievements, including her Olympics legacy.