Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd has said he has an “aggressive and untreatable” form of leukaemia.

The veteran politician, 73, who has represented Greater Manchester for over 40 years, said he had been receiving treatment for blood cancer, but the illness had progressed.

He said he would be leaving hospital on Thursday in order to “spend the time I have left with my family”.

Politics live: Post Office investigator ‘one of worst in history’

In his statement, the MP for Rochdale asked for privacy for him and his loved ones, but sought to reassure his constituents his office would remain open to support them.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply saddened” by the update, and Sir Tony was “admired and respected throughout the Labour Party”.

He added: “We are indebted to him for his lifetime of service. Our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.”

Sir Tony first entered parliament in 1983 and has held a range of seats in the region – beginning in Stretford before moving to Manchester Central and finally Rochdale.

He took a five-year break from Westminster to serve as Greater Manchester’s police and crime commissioner, but was beaten to the post of mayor by Andy Burnham in 2016.

As an MP, he served as a foreign minister in the early years of Tony Blair’s government, and later became the chair of the parliamentary Labour Party.

While on the opposition benches, he held a huge range of roles, but most recently served as shadow Scotland secretary, before having to resign to recover from COVID.