HUNDREDS of people turned out to pay their last respects to one of the giants of Liverpool politics, former Lord Mayor Cllr Jack Spriggs.

Tributes were led by former Lord Mayor and fellow Fazakerley councillor Steve Rotheram, who said everyone who knew Labour councillor Spriggs – on both sides of the political divide – knew him simply as “Jack”.

And his coffin was carried out of the Holy Name Church in Fazakerley to a standing ovation.

A tearful Cllr Rotheram said: “He was tremendously loyal to his family and friends, and I feel privileged to be able to call him my mate.”

The congregation, including council leader Cllr Warren Bradley, Lord Mayor Mike Storey and several other senior Liberal Democrats, heard how “justice and fairness for all” were 75-year-old Cllr Spriggs main passions, aside from his family and his fanatical love of Liverpool FC.

Elected to Liverpool council in 1991, he built his reputation as a formidable trade unionist many years before, leading the famous Fisher Bendix factory sit-in in 1972.

One of his oldest friends, Paul Orr, described how Merseytravel vice-chair Cllr Spriggs had been crucial in keeping Liverpool’s Merseytram hopes alive.

He said: “No-one expected Jack to turn up at the last council meeting on Wednesday – he was going to go to the match – but he turned up and carried the vote by one. So when we have our fabulous trams back, remember Jack Spriggs.”