Former UK Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson has died at the age of 91.

Lawson's parliamentary career spanned over 50 years, and he was most well known for his tenure as chancellor for six years under Margaret Thatcher.

He served in No 11 from June 1983, overseeing much of the Thatcherite economic agenda and was a prominent supporter of privatisation. 

Lawson was a Conservative MP representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992.

He remained active in politics towards the end of his career, serving as president of pro-Brexit campaign group Conservatives for Britain, and as chair of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a thinktank promoting scepticism about climate change, which has recently reported itself to the Charity Commission over concerns surrounding funding and "one-sided and politically motivated research".

Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described Lawson as a "transformational chancellor and an inspiration to me and many others", as he paid tribute on Twitter.

"One of the first things I did as chancellor was hang a picture of Nigel Lawson above my desk," Sunak said.

Former PM Boris Johnson also took to Twitter to pay his respects, recalling Lawson as "a fearless and original flame of free market Conservatism".

He said he was a "tax cutter and simplified who helped transform the economic landscape".

Jeremy Hunt, the current chancellor, described Lawson as "a rarity amongst politicians, someone who transformed our thinking as well as transforming our economy".

Lawson began his career as a journalist, working for the Financial Times and the Sunday Telegraph before becoming editor of the Spectator in 1966.

He also wrote The View from No 11, a book about his time as chancellor and the reasons for his resignation from Thatcher's government.