One of East Anglia's most controversial council leaders who ended up in prison for fiddling expenses has died at the age of 84.

Lord Hanningfield was leader of Essex County Council from 2000 to 2010 and was a Conservative spokesman in the House of Lords after being given a peerage in 1998.

But his world came crashing down in 2011 when he was convicted of fiddling more than £13,000 in expenses and jailed for nine months.

He returned to the House of Lords after serving a quarter of his sentence - but faced further allegations although a second legal case against him was dropped before it came to court.

Paul White was born in Chelmsford in September 1940 and was leader of Essex County Council between February 2000 to February 2010. He took the title of Lord Hanningfield when he joined the House of Lords.

He held numerous senior national positions in local government including Leader of the Association of County Councils (1995-97) and Chair of the Council of Local Education Authorities (1990-1992) helping to create the Local Government Association where he served as Deputy Chair (1997-2001).

Lord Hanningfield's family issued a statement confirming his death, saying: "Paul was a much-loved brother, brother-in-law and uncle.

"He was passionate about helping others and utterly committed to the people and communities of Essex. He championed Essex both locally and nationally, including during his time in the House of Lords.

"His time as leader of Essex County Council saw the authority undertake ground-breaking initiatives to support Essex including the nationally recognised scheme to reopen post offices and the creation of the Bank of Essex, supporting the county’s businesses. 

"He was a consequential figure with drive, determination and single mindedness that ran through everything that he did.

"He will be sadly missed by all those that knew him."