British Police on Tuesday said that India-born Labour MP Ashok Kumar, who was found dead at his home in north England, died from natural causes, as Prime Minister Gordon Brown patted his contribution to the country.
"A post-mortem was carried out this morning and revealed that the
53-year-old died from natural causes," a Cleveland Police spokeswoman said.
53-year-old Labour MP, who was found dead at his home yesterday, was born in Hardwar in Uttarakhand in 1956 and had represented Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland since 1997, after becoming MP for the ancestor seat of Langbaurgh in 1991.
Describing Kumar as "a tenacious campaigner", Premier Brown said the MP was "a warm and incredibly generous man". He said he was "greatly saddened" by Kumar's sudden death.
"Ashok was a hard-working constituency MP who took pride in representing the people of Middlesbrough as both a councillor and MP since 1987. His long-standing campaigns to keep shipbuilding in Teesside were respected by all sides of the House," Brown said.
A spokesman for Kumar's office said his death had come as "a huge shock" and tributes were paid to him from Westminster and beyond.
Chief Constable Sean Price said, "Ashok Kumar was a talented MP who was dedicated to serving his constituents and was always greatly supportive of Cleveland Police.
"I was extremely saddened to hear the news of his death and my thoughts are with his family and friends."