It was an honour and a privilege to have been invited to attend Tony Benn’s (pictured below) funeral last Thursday.

This wonderful man encouraged and inspired so many people in his tireless pursuit of social justice.

I was proud to have marched beside him in support of the miners, proud to have worked with him in the fight against nuclear weapons and to have walked with him on countless CND marches, proud to have shared thoughts and learnt from him and proud, so very proud, when he wrote to tell me how much he enjoyed listening to my son Danny’s music.

It was with a heavy heart that I sat in St Margaret’s Church last week. His coffin, lovingly decked with beautiful red roses, seemed to represent the last vestige of human kindness, of tolerance, of honesty and of decency ever to have been displayed by any public figure in such abundance.

He will live in the hearts of thousands of us forever, such is the magnitude of his spirit.

As he was carried up the aisle for his final journey, I’m not ashamed to say that I was in tears. So were many others.

I reached out and touched him and said, “God bless you, Tony, and thank you.”

Lynda Sumbler, Olde Place Mews, Rottingdean