Sir Clement Freud dies aged 84

Sir Clement Freud, grandson of Sigmund Freud and the brother of the painter Lucian, has died aged 84. In a statement issued today, his family said that Sir Clement, who at one time was a Liberal MP, had died on Wednesday evening at his London home.

Renowned for his lugubrious expression and mournful voice, he will perhaps be best known for his appearances on BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute on which he appeared on and off for more than 30 years.

Writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry was among the first to pay tribute to both his wit and raffishness. "During the 50s and 60s he was a real Soho figure. He knew all girls of easy virtue, he knew the pimps, the racetrack tipsters, and the restaurateurs where he learnt his business as a chef. His fund of stories of that time was remarkable. He lived a sort of life on the edge - his brother Lucien is known as the more bohemian as an artist but Clement had that quality too."

Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig and Lucie Freud. His family fled to Britain from Nazi Germany in 1933 and he was educated at St Paul's, an independent day school in London.

During the Second World War he served as an aide to Field Marshal Montgomery. In 1950, he married June Flewett - the inspiration for Lucy Pevensie in CS Lewis' children's series the Chronicles of Narnia - and the couple went on to have five children. Among their number are Matthew Freud, the PR guru who is married to Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth, and Emma, a broadcaster and partner of Richard Curtis, the film director responsible for Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love, Actually.

Freuds other passion was cookery he was one of Britain's first celebrity chefs', having worked at the Dorchester Hotel, and appeared in countless TV programmes as well as running his own restaurant. In addition to this, he became a familiar face on television due to his appearance in a series of dog food adverts (for Minced Morsels) in which he co-starred with a bloodhound called Henry (played by a number of dogs) which shared his trademark hangdog expression.

He was the Liberal MP for the Isle of Ely (later North East Cambridgeshire) from 1973 to 1987. On his election, he was hailed as the first Jewish Liberal MP for decades, though in fact he has been Anglican since his marriage. His departure from Parliament was marked by his being awarded a knighthood.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, the actress Jill Freud. His funeral will be held next week.