Labour leader Ed Miliband has led tributes to prominent party donor Andrew Rosenfeld, who died yesterday.
The millionaire property tycoon, who lived in Highgate, died aged 52 following a short illness.
Mr Miliband, of Dartmouth Park, said: “I am deeply saddened by the sudden death of my friend, Andrew Rosenfeld.
“My thoughts are with Juliet and his family.”
Mr Rosenfeld, chairman of mobile phone provider TPO, was among those caught up in the “cash-for-honours” controversy after he lent more than £1million to the Labour Party before the 2005 general election.
He switched sides to support the Conservatives in 2010, describing David Cameron as the “man for the job”.
But he returned to the Labour fold shortly afterwards and indicated he would donate £1million to the party’s campaign for this May.
Mr Rosenfeld founded property investment firm Minerva with Sir David Garrard in the 1980s, building up a fortune estimated at around £100million.
In 2012 he launched TPO - the People’s Operator - promising to give a quarter of profits to charity.
In a statement, Mr Rosenfeld’s family said: “The family of Andrew Rosenfeld are devastated to announce that he passed away yesterday. Andrew was a devoted and loving husband, father and friend.”
A spokesman for TPO said: “The thoughts of everybody involved with the company are with his family at this sad time.”
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