David Sassoli, the president of the European parliament whose final political intervention had been to oppose the building of walls on the EU’s borders, has been praised for his kindness following his death at the age of 65.
The former journalist, whose three-year term as speaker of the chamber was due to end next week, had been admitted to hospital in Aviano, in his native Italy, on Boxing Day following a “dysfunction of his immune system”. He died at 1.15am on Tuesday.