Former British Home Secretary Leon Brittan dies

Sir Leon Brittan, whom at the time was The European Union's top trade official, gestures during a news conference in Geneva in this file photo dated December 11, 1997. REUTERS/Pierre Virot

LONDON (Reuters) - Leon Brittan, a former British minister in the government of Margaret Thatcher, has died, his family said on Thursday. Brittan, 75, was Home Secretary (interior minister) between 1983 and 1985. "Leon passed away last night at his home in London after a long battle with cancer," his family said in a statement. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Kate Holton)