British veteran Labour politician and former Chesterfield MP Tony Benn has died at home at the age of 88, his family said.

The former Cabinet minister died at his home surrounded by family members.

In a statement, his children Stephen, Hilary, Melissa and Joshua said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that our father Tony Benn died peacefully early this morning at his home in west London surrounded by his family.

“We will miss above all his love which has sustained us throughout our lives. But we are comforted by the memory of his long, full and inspiring life and so proud of his devotion to helping others as he sought to change the world for the better.”

Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the Labour veteran on Twitter.

He said: “Tony Benn was a magnificent writer, speaker and campaigner. There was never a dull moment listening to him, even if you disagreed with him.”

Labour MPs also took to the social network to pay warm tributes.

Former Cabinet minister Peter Hain said: “Tony Benn was a giant of socialism who encouraged me to join Labour in 1977: wonderful inspirational speaker and person: will be deeply missed.”

Diane Abbott said: “Admired so many things about Benn: unwavering principles; always open to new ideas; stellar political speaker but unfailingly courteous.”

Barry Sheerman, who entered Parliament in 1979 and served alongside Benn for many years, said: “Sad news of Tony Benn death. I had my differences with him but he was a ‘big beast’ in our political life and party history.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband paid tribute to an “iconic figure of our age. He will be remembered as a champion of the powerless, a great parliamentarian and a conviction politician.

“For someone of such strong views, often at odds with his party, he won respect from across the political spectrum.

“This was because of his unshakeable beliefs and his abiding determination that power and the powerful should be held to account.

“He believed in movements and mobilised people behind him for the causes he cared about, often unfashionable ones. In a world of politics that is often too small, he thought big about our country and our world.

“Above all, as I had cause to know, he was an incredibly kind man. I did work experience with him at the age of 16. I may have been just a teenager but he treated me as an equal. It was the nature of the man and the principle of his politics.

“I saw him for the last time a couple of weeks ago in hospital. He may have been ailing in body but was as sharp as ever in mind. As I left he said to me ‘Well, old son. Let’s have a proper talk when you have more time’.

“As he said of his wife Caroline at her funeral, he showed us how to live and how to die.”

Former foreign secretary Dame Margaret Beckett said Benn had been a “brilliant speaker” on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. She said: “People who heard him speak up and down the country will never forget it... people may or may not agree with him but they would come out of a public meeting he had addressed saying ‘I didn’t agree with any of it, but it was wonderful’.

“He had such clarity of expression, he opened people’s eyes and he made them think.”

Former PM Gordon Brown said: “Tony Benn was a powerful, fearless, relentless advocate for social justice and people’s rights whose writing as well as speeches will continue to have a profound influence on generations to come.”

Tony Benn campaigning in Bristol in 1979. Photo: PA Wire