Former MEP Glenys Kinnock, the wife of ex-Labour leader Neil Kinnock, has died aged 79.

Her husband of 56 years was with her in her final moments, her family said in a statement, adding they were “devastated” by her loss.

She represented Wales in the European Parliament for 15 years, before being appointed to the House of Lords and becoming minister for Europe under the last Labour government.

Politics live: Blair and Brown pay tribute to Glenys Kinnock

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead went on to serve as minister for Africa.

Her Labour MP son, Stephen, who serves as the shadow immigration minister, described his mother as a “formidable” person who had a “cheeky” sense of humour, while opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the prominent politician a “true fighter for the Labour Party”.

While an “enormous support” to her husband Neil, who led the opposition from 1983 to 1992, former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said Lady Kinnock was a “leader in her own right” and her death would be “mourned in many countries and corners of the Earth”.

The Labour peer had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years ago.

In a statement, her family said: “It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Glenys Kinnock.

“Glenys died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of Sunday morning, at home in London.

“She was the beloved wife and life partner of Neil, the cherished mother of Steve and Rachel and an adored grandmother.

“Neil was with her in her final moments. They had been married for 56 years.

“A proud democratic socialist, she campaigned, in Britain and internationally, for justice and against poverty all her life.”

The family added: “She was a great friend to many people and causes and was truly loved.

“Glenys endured Alzheimer’s after being diagnosed in 2017 and, as long as she could, sustained her merriment and endless capacity for love, never complaining and with the innate courage with which she had confronted every challenge throughout her life.

“The family is of course devastated and and would ask that their privacy be respected.”

In his own tribute, her son said he was “heartbroken”.

In a post on social media, the Labour MP for Aberavon wrote: “She was a beloved Mum & Nain who was adored by her family & friends.

“A truly formidable person in every single way, and with such a cheeky sense of humour! Rest in peace.”

Sir Keir said: “Glenys was a passionate lifelong campaigner for social justice at home and abroad.

“She supported Neil through his leadership and went on to have an impressive political career of her own as a member of the European Parliament, in the House of Lords and as a minister in the last Labour government, focused on Europe and Africa.

“Neil and Glenys had the most wonderful partnership, there for each other through thick and thin, with a love and commitment that was instantly obvious when you saw them together. As the family have detailed, in recent years that meant looking after Glenys as Alzheimer’s did its worst.

“But what we will all remember is Glenys as a true fighter for the Labour Party and the values of the Labour movement, a pioneering woman, to whom we owe an enormous debt.”

In a statement, Sir Tony said: “She was a huge figure in progressive politics for decades: incredibly smart, brave, determined and resolute in standing up for what she believed was right.

“Whether in fighting the cause of development, and the eradication of global poverty, social justice in Britain, equality for women or making the case for a European Union of weight and influence in the world, Glenys was passionate and persuasive.

“She was of course an enormous support to Neil but she was a leader in her own right.

“And as a couple, they were a joy to be near, full of fun, the life and soul of any gathering.”

He added: “Glenys will be mourned in many countries and corners of the earth.”

Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, who appointed Lady Kinnock to his administration in 2009, said: “All who met Glenys admired her for her generosity, her warmth and her passionate support for the best of national and international causes.”

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Glenys was a towering figure in the Labour movement for decades and a thoroughly wonderful and decent human being.”

Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Anas Sarwar said: “Glenys was a relentless campaigner for social justice.”

Born on 7 July 1944, Lady Kinnock was educated at Holyhead High School, Anglesey, and later graduated from University College, Cardiff,

She met her future husband at university and they were married in 1967.

Lady Kinnock subsequently worked as a teacher, before becoming an MEP in 1994, and held a number of key positions.

However, her time in the role was not without controversy, becoming caught up in an expenses scandal and gaining the unenviable reputation as “the most travelled British MEP”.

With the appointment of her husband as a European Commissioner, the couple became known as Brussels’ “very own Lord and Lady Expenses”.

Lady Kinnock is survived by her husband, Neil, and her children Stephen and Rachel.