David Cameron has led tributes to record-breaking athlete and Tory former minister Sir Christopher Chataway, describing him as "one of a kind" and a "great Briton".
Sir Christopher, who acted as a pacemaker to help Sir Roger Bannister become the first man to break the four-minute mile barrier in 1954, died aged 82.
He died at around 7am yesterday at St John's Hospice in north west London having suffered from cancer for two and a half years, his son Mark Chataway said.
Mr Cameron said: "Chris was a rare politician in that he enjoyed such extensive, wide-ranging and successful careers both before and after he served in Parliament."
Sir Christopher won the first BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1954 and later pursued a successful career in politics and business.
The Prime Minister said: "In politics, he held a number of influential positions and as the Government Minister responsible for introducing local commercial radio, left a lasting legacy millions continue to enjoy today.
"And after politics, Chris continued to hold senior positions with organisations as diverse as BT Systems, Laker Airways, and Bletchley Park. Chris was one of a kind; throwing himself into every project and achieving so much in so many fields. We have lost a great Briton, a true Conservative and a man of many talents.
"My thoughts and prayers are with Chris's family."
Mr Chataway, 53, called his father a "very compassionate and wise man" who had the "ability to put other people's needs first".
"We were, especially in these last few years, struck by his amazing qualities of humility and strength," he said. Mr Chataway said he and his siblings "grew up with him as a person, not as a runner", adding: "Of course we all thought it was remarkable. We all saw the old footage, but I think as a child that's not what you focus on in a parent."
Sir Christopher is best remembered for a race in Oxford on May 6 1954 which he did not even win. He was one of the pacemakers who helped Sir Roger Bannister become the first person to break the four-minute mile at the Iffley Road track.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article