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It's always hard to accept the death of a valued colleague and friend but when that person is just 42 years old and dies suddenly and without warning, the loss is even harder to come to terms with.

Many of us in ´óÏó´«Ã½ News have been shocked and saddened by the death of Gareth Butler, until very recently deputy editor of the and a man who had worked on a wide range of news programmes during his many years at the ´óÏó´«Ã½.

Gareth had a passion for politics and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject which made him an invaluable member of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s political programmes department in Westminster.

He was a founder member of the team which launched the Politics Show on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One in early 2003 and played an important role as deputy editor in shaping and developing its unique remit for covering politics.

In recent years, he edited a number of election results programmes for radio where his ability to make sense of the fast moving story was a huge asset.

His calm good humour will be hugely missed by all of us.

, presenter of the Politics Show, has written an .