Islington North MP Wilfred Fienburgh died in a car crash aged 38.

Mr Fienburgh, who had served the consituency for seven years, was described as “one of the most talented of the younger MPs” and had been tipped for a post in the next Labour government.

Party leader Hugh Gaitskell said in tribute: “He was destined, had he lived, for ever greater achievements and responsibilities.”

The car he was driving collided with a lamp post while driving in Mill Hill, an inquest at Hendon Coroner’s Court heard. He died of a fractured skull.

When the Second World War broke out, Mr Fienburgh joined the Rifle Brigade and was commissioned in 1940. He served throughout the war and was awarded an MBE in 1945 for services during the invasion of Europe.

He won an 8,865 majority in the 1951 election and 7,578 in 1955. He was one of Labour’s chief speakers on military matters in the Commons. Mr Fienburgh left behind a wife, Joan, two daughters and two sons.