MICK SHAW

That this House is saddened by the death of Mick Shaw, former president of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), who will be remembered as a principled trade unionist, socialist and internationalist; recalls that he joined the London Fire Brigade in 1977, trained in Southwark and worked as a firefighter at Shoreditch and Plaistow stations, before moving on to full-time union work, being elected as executive council member for London in 1997 and in 2007 elected FBU president; recognises that he committed his life not only to representing his fellow firefighters but also to a vast range of causes from campaigns against cuts in public services and poverty in this country to international issues, being actively involved in the Labour Representation Committee and the Cuba Solidarity Campaign; and offers condolences to Mick's family and to his comrades in the FBU.