PETER Law's widow claims he was offered a peerage not to stand in the General Election.

Trish Law said her husband refused the offer - made while he battled the brain tumour that ultimately killed him - because "Peter couldn't be bought".

The former Blaenau Gwent MP and AM died on Tuesday aged 58. Last year he quit the Labour party in a bitter row over all-women short lists for the General Election. He stood as an Independent against Labour candidate Maggie Jones and won the seat - until then Labour's safest in Wales - with a majority of more than 9,000.

Mrs Law said a senior party figure offered her husband the peerage in a bid to stop him standing.

"There was pressure put on him. He had quite a number of phone calls from high-ranking politicians not to do it (stand): he would be silly to do it, there was no way that he would win," said Mrs Law.

"I believe even a peerage at one time was, thrown in the air because I used to laugh about it: 'Oh, Lady Trish, am I?'."

She added: "I believe it was a serious proposition otherwise Peter would not have said it to me."

Mrs Law declined, in the BBC interview, to say who made the offer but said: "It was a very high-ranking politician."

Dai Davies, Mr Law's agent in the election, said: "Peter indicated to me early in the campaign that he had been offered a peerage. "In all honesty I'd rather believe what Peter and Trish say than the Labour party.

"Peter was a man of honour and a man of truth and if that is what he says then that is the case."

A Labour party spokesman denied the claim, saying: "Friends of Peter from within the party did plead with him not to stand and that's well known but there was no offer of a peerage."

Ian Morgan, one of the those expelled from the Labour party for supporting Mr Law, said: "Neither Trish nor Peter are liars.

"There was a lot of coming and going with the hierarchy at that time - it was desperate measures."

In the interview for a television programme Mrs Law, often fighting back tears, also said a flyer came to their house from a potential Labour candidate seeking support to stand in Blaenau Gwent - while Mr Law was still alive.

Conservative AM William Graham said he believed Mr Law would have been offered incentives, although not a peerage.

He said: "I am sure they would have tried to manoeuvre him to follow their will