BICOM

The Queen and Prime Minister have led British tributes to Israel’s former President Shimon Peres, who passed away overnight Tuesday.

Prime Minister Theresa May described Peres as a “great man who epitomised optimism” and a “beloved father and compatriot” who never lost hope. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said via social media that “Shimon Peres’s role in Israel-Palestine negotiations won a Nobel Peace Prize and should be the spur for a renewed drive for peace and justice”.

The Queen said that she was “deeply saddened” by Shimon Peres’ passing. She will be represented by at tomorrow’s funeral by Prince Charles, who last visited Israel for the funeral of former-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin in 1995.

Tributes were also paid by former Prime Ministers.

David Cameron said: “One of the founding fathers of Israel and a believer in peace has left us. Today we mourn the loss of a great man.”

Sir John Major, who was in office when Peres signed the Oslo Accords in the 1990s called Peres “a true patriot and illustrious leader… a giant of Israeli politics. He tried consistently to broker a peace between Israel and the Palestinians”.

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown said that Peres will be “mourned on every continent by men and women committed to ending war”.

Writing in Haaretz, another former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said that Peres “embodied much of what makes Israel a great nation”. Blair commented that the word “visionary… doesn’t really do that extraordinary mind justice. New ideas, new ways of thinking, new plans for changing the world, coursed through his [Peres’] political veins as his life blood, giving him boundless energy as the rest of us tried in vain to keep up”.

Peres passed away aged 93, having suffered a major stroke two weeks ago. He was regarded as Israel’s elder statesman, having served as president, Prime Minister and a variety of ministerial positions. He enjoyed an almost unbroken spell of nearly 50 years as a Knesset member.