The body of a Labour peer has been found in a river in Wales, police have said.
Dyfed Powys Police said it had been alerted to the safety of a man last seen swimming in the River Wye, Glasbury on July 1.
After a large-scale search, a body was recovered from the river, which has subsequently been identified as 77-year-old David Lipsey, Baron Lipsey.
It follows the announcement of his death in the Lords on Wednesday afternoon - with the House's Speaker Lord McFall extending peers' condolences to his family and friends.
The Labour peer's final contribution to Britain's upper chamber came on October 9 last year
HOUSE OF LORDS
The Labour peer's final contribution to Britain's upper chamber came on October 9 last year - where, chillingly, he told Lords of his love for swimming in the Wye.
Speaking during the second reading of the Water (Special Measures) Bill, he said: "We go swimming at Glasbury most mornings in summer, some mornings in winter, and my wife even took the plunge once on Boxing Day, for which she should certainly have a medal.
"We still do this, but it is a deteriorating experience.
"Part of the river near us was closed this summer to wild swimmers such as us on the grounds of pollution."
His last Lords words were: "The Bill and the debates on it present a matchless opportunity to promote the cause of this iconic river and stop it dying before our eyes."
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PICTURED: A regatta at Ross-on-Wye, downstream of Glasbury on the River Wye
PA
Lipsey was twice married - firstly to Elizabeth, and secondly to Margaret Robson, with whom he had a daughter and two stepsons.
Lipsey had been a journalist for The Times, The Guardian and The Economist before serving as a speechwriter and No10 adviser to Prime Minister James Callaghan.
In a briefing to Callaghan, Lipsey coined the phrase "Winter of Discontent".
He has also been credited with being behind the term "New Labour".
The 77-year-old had elsewhere advised ex-Foreign Secretary Anthony Crosland, and though he had been tipped to pursue a seat in the Commons, his hatred of canvassing was said to have put him off.
Lipsey was deeply involved in left-wing politics, having been the chairman of the socialist Fabian Society - though he was commonly seen as a moderate.
He later led the All-Party Parliamentary group on Classical Music.
Outside his political career, Lipsey was president of the British Harness Racing Club from 2008 to 2016, and chaired the British Greyhound Racing Board from 2004 to 2009.
He also worked for the Advertising Standards Authority between 1999 and 2005.
Lipsey was long a major player on the greyhound racing scene.
Following his death, the Racing Post honoured him as "one of the power-brokers of the sport".
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