He said: "I worked with Jack in the T and G and through the TUC for many years.

"Jack Jones was a great fighter for ordinary people whether they were at work or unemployed or later as pensioners.

"He never forgot the underdog and will be remembered with affection."

TUC General Secretary, Southport-born Brendan Barber, described Mr Jones as a "true giant of the labour movement" , who was ``utterly dedicated to delivering respect and social justice for working people''.

He said: "He was a passionate internationalist showing raw courage on the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War.

Former Labour Cabinet minister Tony Benn said: "I feel a real sense of personal bereavement. I loved Jack Jones. I’ve known him for years and I went to his 95th birthday last year.

"He was one of the finest men I ever met. Everything he said, he felt, he believed.

"I just feel really, really sad that he has died, but 96 is not a bad run."

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: "The slump we face is a product of deregulation, a product of all the things that Mrs Thatcher believed in.

"We were told ’break the unions, keep out, leave everything to the markets’ and now we are in the most serious crisis for 60 years. So I think that also makes Jack’s death a moment for reflection."