Former SDLP leader John Hume (83) passes away after short illness

Mr. Hume, along with then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, David Trimble, was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1998 after the ratification of the Belfast Agreement.

SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood, said Mr. Hume's passing was a "loss of the 20th century".

"The death of John Hume represents the loss of 20th century Ireland’s most significant and consequential political figure.

"It is no exaggeration to say that each and every one of us now lives in the Ireland Hume imagined – an island at peace and free to decide its own destiny," said Mr. Eastwood.

More to follow.