Former Labour MP Sir Patrick Duffy dies at 105

Former Labour MP and Defence Minister Sir Patrick Duffy has died at the age of 105 after a short illness.

Born in Wigan in 1920, before his miner father moved the family to Doncaster for work, he was the Labour MP for Colne Valley (1963 – 1966) and then Sheffield Attercliffe from 1970 until his retirement in 1992.

Sir Patrick served in the Fleet Forces in the Second World War, where, at 23, he survived a near fatal plane crash as Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands where he was administered the last rites. He went on to fly further missions.

He served as a defence minister in the Callaghan government from 1976 to 1979 having previously been a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence. After Labour’s defeat in 1979 he served as opposition spokesman for defence from 1979 – 1981 and again from 1983 – 1984.

Sir Patrick was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. Duffy, who was a lifelong Catholic was also given a papal knighthood in 2017. His Catholicism led him to an anti-abortion stance and he was President of the Labour pro-life group.

Staunchly on the moderate wing of the Party Duffy was a great believer in NATO, which he served as President in the 1980s. He also took a firm stance against unilateral nuclear disarmament. Although a believer in the Common Market in the 1970s he also welcomed the Brexit vote in 2016 believing that the Eurozone made the EU “no longer a practical venture.”

Duffy was the longest lived Parliamentarian in British history.

In a statement from his family they described him as “an extraordinary man with a lifetime of accomplishments.”

“Patrick leaves behind him family and friends – across all age groups – who will miss his kindness, humour and incredible acuity in recalling personalities and events from a century ago.

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