Actor Tony Booth dies, aged 85

Booth, 85, who was the father of Cherie Blair, died on Monday night.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2004 and had also suffered heart problems.

A statement, released on behalf of his wife Steph Booth yesterday, said: “It is with sadness we announce the death of Antony Booth, actor and political campaigner.

“Tony passed away late last night with close family members in attendance.

“The family ask for their privacy to be respected at this time.”

Booth’s character in the hugely popular sitcom reflected his own left-wing political beliefs. When his son-in-law Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997, his political views proved to be an occasional thorn in the PM’s side.

Mr Booth, who joined the Labour Party at the age of 15, railed against ‘androids’ at Labour’s Millbank HQ in 1999 and a year later said his daughter’s husband had stuffed the House of Lords with “Tony’s Cronies”.

He also criticised the Blairs for choosing to send their eldest son to the selective and grant-maintained London Oratory School.

The gripes did not stop there, with Mr Booth accusing the Government of “ruthlessly” squashing the pay demands of striking firefighters and being “prepared to throw away billions” on the Iraq war rather than spending the money on pensioners.

Mr Booth was married four times and fathered nine daughters including Mrs Blair.

He remained close to his daughter despite the political differences between him and his son-in-law.

But decades before, he was better known to television viewers as ‘Scouse git’ Mike, the long-haired left-wing son-in-law of right-wing Cockney Alf Garnett in Till Death Us Do Part. The sitcom aired on the BBC for 10 years from 1965 to 1975, and there was a sequel and remakes in other countries, notably a hugely popular version in the US, All In The Family, as well as a film version.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2004 and also had heart problems.