New Delhi: Indian-born Piara Khabra, a British Member of Parliament is dead.
Eighty-year-old Khabra, the oldest member of the House of Commons, was undergoing treatment for liver abscesses at the Hammersmith Hospital.
Khabra, who is a Labour MP has represented Ealing Southall since 1992.
He was one of the first Asian MPs to be elected to the House of Commons. Khabra moved to the UK 47 years ago and worked as a teacher and social worker before taking up politics.
Khabra was an active member of Southall's Asian community and became a justice of the peace in 1977.
He also was actively involved in community politics as a Labour Councillor and through the Indian Workers Association in Southall.
Born into a Sikh family in India's Punjab, Khabra studied social sciences at Khalsa High School and Panjab University.
He served in the Indian Army between 1942 and 1946, and immigrated to the UK in 1959.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair led MPs in paying tribute to him in the House of Commons.
“He was a tireless campaigner, particularly on the issues of international development and racial equality. He was a tremendous servant to his constituents. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time,†Blair said.
(With agency inputs)
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