Lord Morris of Manchester commanded instant respect

 In march 1978, Lord Morris of Manchester appeared on the BBC1 series for pensioners, The 607080 Show, which I directed. When he began talking about the roots of his campaigning on behalf of disabled people, it was immediately clear he was one of those rare characters who commands instant respect, even among the seen-it-all technicians of a TV studio crew. Interviewed by the comedian Roy Hudd, Alf spoke about his father's war wounds and early death, and explained his notion of "the disabled family", when any one member has a disability. There always seemed to be a worried frown on his rumpled face, but it was also clear that Alf was a tough old "Manc", as confirmed by his unparalelled parliamentary achievements on behalf of sick, disabled and otherwise vulnerable people.