Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn has died

Lord Adam, as he was known to many, loved Lancashire and his town of Blackburn and always looked to assist as many people as he could from across different cultures and backgrounds. He was renowned for his tireless voluntary work.

As a member of the Labour party he worked closely with Baroness Castle, Louise Ellman, Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton, Janet Anderson, Keith Vaz and Blackburn MP Jack Straw.

Lord Adam speaking at a dinner event at Blackburn Rovers

He was a founder member of among other organisations the Blackburn Community Relations Council, then the Racial Equality Council, a founder of the Blackburn Indian Workers' Association and the Lancashire Council Mosques. The British Hajj commission was led by Lord Adam Patel for a decade.

Lord Adam is pictured here with Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto when she visited Blackburn in 1999 (Pictures: Asian Image/ Lancashire Telegraph)

In this image from 2002 he is pictured with Jack Straw MP at a Asian Business Federation Event.

Lord Patel left his village of Kamad, in Bharuch, Gujurat, in 1965, arriving in Blackburn in December 1965.

He had studied at MS University of Baroda, where he first became involved in politics. In England he funded his accountancy studies by working at a Dewsbury cotton mill for six months. 

He went on to become a Managing Director of a clothing manufacturing company.

In recent years he was forced to take a back seat in community matters after he became ill.

The Funeral will take place on Thursday May 30 at 3.30pm at Pleasington Cemetery, Blackburn.

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