THE funeral of former Newport West MP will be held at St Woolos Cathedral in Newport on Friday, March 22 at 11am.

Mr Flynn, who had been ill for some time, died on February 17.

A respected figure in the House of Commons, Mr Flynn served as a front- and back bench MP with distinction. One of the issues close to his heart was the campaign to legalise cannabis for medical use in the UK. A Private Member’s Bill calling for this to become law, and presented by Mr Flynn, was on the Parliamentary agenda as recently as last October.

READ MORE: Newport West MP Paul Flynn has died aged 84

Mr Flynn was a Newport borough councillor for nine years, to 1981, and a Gwent county councillor for eight years, to 1982, before beginning a long and distinguished parliamentary career.

His first attempt at becoming an MP for Labour - fighting the Denbigh constituency in the October 1974 General Election - was unsuccessful.

READ MORE: Tributes flood in for veteran Newport MP Paul Flynn after news of his death

But in June 1987, he won back the Newport West constituency for the party from sitting Conservative MP Mark Robinson, and had represented the area ever since.

Last October, he described his health problems as being "more severe than anything I've ever dealt with" and "greatly regretted" having to announce that he would be standing down "at the earliest opportunity".