Ashdown on Kennedy: A rare figure has been lost to us

Paddy Ashdown has said the death of "unusual and increasingly rare figure" Charles Kennedy is a "terrible loss".

Speaking to ITV News, the former Lib Dem leader said it was a loss not just to the party but to the body of politics on a wider scale.

He said: "You think of his opposition to the Iraq war - but history has proved him right.

"You think of him in an age of manicured, perfectly presented politicians who are not liked in the country - his ability to reach out well beyond the circle of Westminster is one of the reasons why he is so loved.

"And you realise that a rather unusual and increasingly rare figure has been lost to us, and that is a very sad event."