Tommy McAvoy, Lord McAvoy, who has died aged 80, was a working-class Labour politician with a strong Catholic faith who probably had more personal encounters with Queen Elizabeth II than any other parliamentarian during the course of Tony Blair’s governments.
His contacts with the Queen were due to his role as comptroller of the household, the third highest rank in the government whips’ office, which meant he had to report to her each week on parliamentary business. As in everything, McAvoy was extremely discreet about his regular royal encounters. The most he was ever heard to say was that they “talked about normal things, like family”.
