Andy Burnham leads moving tributes to Sir Howard Bernstein, the architect of modern Manchester

Andy Burnham has led moving tributes from across the worlds of politics and sport to Sir Howard Bernstein, widely credited as the architect of modern Manchester.

During his time at the town hall, Sir Howard helped secure a string of extraordinary breakthroughs for the city, including the post-IRA bomb rebuild, the Commonwealth Games and the regeneration of Hulme. Born into a Jewish family in Cheetham Hill in 1953, he was the elder of two brothers. He joined the town hall in 1971 as an 18-year-old office junior, before working his way up the ladder during a time of huge transformation for the city.

After his family confirmed his death this morning, at the age of 71, leading figures from across the political spectrum paid moving tributes, alongside the chairman of his beloved Manchester City Khaldoon Al Mubarak

READ MORE: Sir Howard Bernstein, Manchester legend, dies

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham led the tributes, saying in a statement: "All of us here in Greater Manchester are deeply saddened by the loss of Sir Howard Bernstein. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his vision and leadership throughout four decades of public service, our city-region would not be the place that it is today. I am privileged to have known and worked with Sir Howard since I was first elected to Parliament in 2001. I had total admiration for his tenacity in representing his city and its residents, and always valued his counsel and friendship during that time.

"Sir Howard was the architect of modern Manchester; the regeneration of the city centre throughout the 1990s owed much to his diligent leadership and ability to build partnerships with the private sector. The success of the Commonwealth Games in 2002 left a legacy that is