MICHAEL Foot raised a glass in celebration of his 90th birthday last night at a special party for his friends and family in London's West End.

The former Labour leader and MP for Blaenau Gwent invited the Argus to join him at the Labour left's unofficial club, the Gay Hussar restaurant in Soho.

Among the guests were leading figures from British politics and journalism, from left and right, a testament to Mr Foot's enduring popularity.

Mr Foot delivered a passionate speech calling on those disaffected with New Labour to remain in the Labour Party and fight for a Socialist agenda and tackle weapons of mass destruction held by all countries including the UK.

Among those raising a glass, to the man described as the saviour of the Labour Party, were spin doctor Alistair Campbell, trade union leader Bill Morris, former BBC political editor John Cole, Leader of the Commons Peter Hain and hundreds of others.

Speaking exclusively to the Argus, Mr Foot said: "I owe a great debt to the people of South Wales both politically and personally. I'm glad to see that they are still leading the world by electing Socialist representatives and I hope to come and visit soon."

Mr Hain said: "Michael is a Welsh icon and a very special person. When I was first elected to represent Neath he gave me a Welsh dictionary and said: 'I'm sure you'll make a better Welshman than me'. I told him then and it still stands now that it would not be possible."

The Prime Minister's director of communications, Alistair Campbell, also paid tribute to his old friend, saying: "Michael has been a great friend of my family and a great leader in the Labour movement, we wish him all the best."

Mr Cole, famous for his sharp analysis delivered in a broad Northern Irish accent, said: "The great thing about Michael is that he's a great human being, in 1983 he suffered this massive electoral defeat but he survived as a person.

"He has contributed a tremendous amount and he managed to carry on the legacy of Nye Bevan in incredibly difficult circumstances."