WILL Straw, the Labour candidate for Rossendale, signed a book of condolences for Nelson Mandela at South Africa House in Trafalgar Square on behalf of the party.

The wording on the note was agreed at the Annual General Meeting of the Constituency Labour Party.

Mr Straw wrote: “We wish to place on record our appreciation for the life of Nelson Mandela.

“In expressing our condolences, we recognise that Mandela’s influence on all of us – as someone who stood up for his beliefs in adversity and successfully challenged the racist and sectarian apartheid regime – will continue to be immense and inspiring long after his passing.”