Inverclyde MP, who had been Catholic priest, was elected to Westminster after change in the law
David Cairns, the Labour MP for Inverclyde and a former Scotland Office minister, has died in hospital in London at the age of 44, after suffering from acute pancreatitis.
Labour announced that Cairns died at 11pm on Monday at the Royal Free hospital in north London. He leaves behind his partner, Dermot, as well as his father, John, and brother Billy.
His death prompted a stream of warm tributes from politicians across the political divide. Ed Miliband, the Labour party leader, said Cairns was a good man and an immensely talented MP.
Cairns, who served as a Catholic priest during the 1990s in churches in London and Scotland, was perhaps best known for being the only sitting MP to have entered parliament after the law was changed in his favour.
He became MP for Greenock and Inverclyde in 2001 after parliament reversed a law that prevented former Catholic priests from taking up seats in the Commons. The government passed the House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 just in time to allow Cairns to take up his seat.
He was re-elected in 2005 when the constituency was renamed Inverclyde, and became a minister before being the first to quit government in the party row over Gordon Brown's leadership in September 2008. Cairns was returned to parliament for a third time last year with an increased majority of 14,416 over the Scottish National party.
Miliband said: "David will be missed beyond measure as a former minister, as an MP, as a friend and a colleague by many people, and my heart especially goes out to his partner, Dermot, and his family in Scotland. David was an immensely talented member of parliament who campaigned diligently on behalf of his constituents in Greenock and Inverclyde. A highly effective minister of state in the Scotland Office, he was Labour through and through and yet was much respected across the political divide.
"He was also a man with a wide hinterland. As a former Catholic priest, he brought a sensitive understanding of others and a ready wit to politics, and he never shied away from saying what he believed to be true. The Labour party will miss him profoundly."
Tony Blair, who first appointed Cairns as a minister, said he was extremely saddened to hear of his former colleague's death. "David's life was dedicated to public service. He was a committed and conscientious constituency MP, an excellent government minister and a passionate campaigner for social justice, equality and opportunity.
"But more than that, David was quite simply a good man, with time for everyone and a wonderful sense of humour, which made him a delight to be around. Westminster, politics and the Labour party will be poorer without him," Blair said.
Once elected to parliament, Cairns worked his way up from membership of the joint committee on the consolidation of bills to parliamentary aide to Malcolm Wicks, the work and pensions minister.
He was appointed as a parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Scotland Office in 2006. Northern Ireland was briefly added to his responsibilities before Blair promoted him to become minister of state in the Scotland Office in 2007. Cairns resigned after rebel MPs began calling for a leadership contest amid unhappiness at Gordon Brown's leadership a year later.
Iain Gray, who is standing down as Labour's Scottish leader, said Cairns was a man of "enormous dignity, courage and outstanding intellect" whose loss would be huge.
He said: "I worked closely with David and the Scotland Office, and everyone who knows David will be devastated by this news, and at such a young age. His time as a minister was characterised by good humour, good judgment and good character. He had so much more to give his party and his country. He is a huge loss to Scottish and progressive politics. His shrewd political analysis never dulled his quick wit and sense of fun. His true calling in life was always to help others."
David Mundell, the Conservative Scotland Office minister, said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the news. "He was a truly decent man who worked tirelessly for his constituents and for the interests of Scotland. He was a formidable opponent at the dispatch box with his ready wit, but he was also extremely personable away from frontline politics. Our thoughts are with his partner, family and friends at this very sad time."
Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister and leader of the SNP, said: "David Cairns was clearly a dedicated and principled parliamentarian, and an effective representative of his constituents, who carried respect across the political spectrum and far beyond."
Angus Robertson, the SNP's Westminster leader, said: "This is a terrible shock – David Cairns will be mourned by MPs in every part of the House of Commons. David's record shows that he was held in the highest esteem by his constituents, whose causes he championed strongly and effectively, and whose interests he always put first."
Cairns's death will trigger a byelection at an as yet unspecified date.