The former Mayor of Watford has paid tribute to a politician who was “in a league of his own”.

Baroness Dorothy Thornhill called Paddy Ashdown a “genuinely good man” in a statement made to the Watford Observer today.

The former Liberal Democrat leader died on December 22 aged 77, just two months after he revealed he was being treated for bladder cancer.

Lord Ashdown was the longest serving leader of the Lib Dems in its history.

Baroness Thornhill said: “I remember he was very welcoming when I first went into the Lords. He told me to not be overawed by the place and was sat behind me when I asked my first question in the chamber.

“I remember he shouted ‘hear hear’ very loudly when I sat down and was encouraging others to do likewise.

“It was really supportive but that’s what he was like, he always had time for others and was never ‘up himself’.

“He was always one of us though clearly in a league of his own in so many ways. A really genuinely good man who will be sorely missed.”