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The maverick Tory had recently been treated for a brain tumour. He died suddenly, his family said in a statement.

A private funeral service has already taken place for the 71-year-old MP for Kensington and Chelsea.

The statement added that Mr Clark, who was known for his love of animals, had "said he would like it to be stated that he regarded himself as having gone to join Tom and the other dogs".

A self-confessed philanderer, he revelled in his reputation for shocking his colleagues by speaking frankly when it often might have helped his career to stay silent.

He once appeared drunk at the despatch box, but his light-hearted comments belied his passionate commitment to the many issues he raised in Parliament.

Tony Blair was quick to pay tribute to the maverick Tory

Prime Minister Tony Blair was among the first to pay tribute to the veteran politician. "We will all miss him," Mr Blair said.

"He was a complete one-off and, above all, his own man."

Former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher - whom the MP once described as a "force of nature" - was also quick to praise her former colleague.

"Alan Clark was a doughty parliamentarian, an accomplished historian and a Tory to his fingertips," she said.

"Politics is poorer and the world duller with his passing."

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After his cancer diagnosis, Mr Clark had promised to try to confront the illness with the strength of the Northern Ireland secretary.

"If I can comport myself with the dignity and competence of Ms Mo Mowlam I shall be very satisfied," he had said.

Under Lady Thatcher, Mr Clark held the posts of trade minister, employment minister and defence minister. But he never managed to make it into the Cabinet.

Besides his well-known diaries, he also wrote a number of books on military history.

Alan Clark died at his family home in Kent

Having attended both Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, the wealthy Mr Clark appeared in many ways an archetypal traditional Conservative.

But he consistently pursued his own logic throughout a myriad of political debates.

A committed vegetarian, he opposed fox hunting but supported hanging.

During the Kosovo conflict, he vigorously opposed the Nato bombing, speaking in many debates in Parliament.

Mr Clark left Parliament before the 1992 general election, giving up the seat of Plymouth South.

He regretted the decision, however, and was re-elected five years later in the safe Kensington and Chelsea constituency.