PRIME Minister Tony Blair led tributes to one of the region's most enduring politicians at a dinner last night.

Labour colleagues and prominent figures from across the region joined Lord Foster of Bishop Auckland to honour his 26 years in Parliament.

Formerly Derek Foster, he stepped down at last year's General Election.

On the guest list at Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon, were Durham's 12 lord lieutenants, several alderman of the county, business and council leaders, party bosses and representatives of six trade unions.

Organisers from the Bishop Auckland and Sedgefield constituencies chose the museum as the venue to mark Lord Foster's role in helping to bring it to Shildon, where one of his saddest moments as an MP had been the loss of 2,500 jobs from the town's British Rail wagonworks in 1984.

The arrival of Locomotion was only one of the many achievements listed last night by Lord Foster's friends and fellow politicians, including his successor in Bishop Auckland, Helen Goodman.

Born into the family of a Wearside shipworker, Lord Foster was a leading figure on Sunderland City Council before he entered the House of Commons in 1979.

Always close to the seat of Labour's power, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to leader Neil Kinnock in 1983, later spending ten years as opposition Chief Whip, watching on the sidelines as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown rose through the party ranks. He expected a Cabinet post when Labour came to power in 1997, but never made it into Mr Blair's "Geordie Mafia".

He was offered only a minister's post in the Office of Public Service, and resigned two days after the election.

If there were past differences, they were forgotten last night.

Paying tribute to Mr Foster, the Prime Minister said: "Twenty-five years is a long time, but the reality is not the length of time Derek spent in Bishop Auckland, but the use he made of that time.

"Some of the things he has done have been quite revolutionary."

One of the event's organisers, Councillor John Robinson, said: "Lord Foster has gained the respect and, in many cases, the thanks of countless constituents, companies, public bodies and local authorities.

"With his right-hand man, Billy Neilson, he treated everybody equally, no matter what their status, and did his utmost to support them."

Mr Blair also honoured Alderman Warren McCourt, from Chilton, a Labour party member for 64 years and a former leader of Sedgefield Borough Council.

l A Northern Echo photographer attended the event last night, but was prevented from taking photographs by a Labour Party official.

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