Lord Hoyle, father of Commons speaker, Lindsay, dies aged 98

Doug Hoyle chaired the parliamentary party between 1992 and 1997, and referred to himself as ‘the chief shop steward representing the backbenchers’. Photograph: Chris McAndre/UK Parliament/PA

Doug Hoyle, the father of the Commons speaker, Lindsay, and a prominent Labour figure during the 1990s as the party transformed into an electoral force, has died at the age of 98.

Lord Hoyle chaired the parliamentary party under John Smith and Tony Blair, and was a co-founder of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI). He died on Saturday with his family by his side, his son said in a statement.