Lord Donald Stokes rose to prominence in the 1940s and 50s and was the prominent industrialist charged with the unenviable task of halting the British motor trade's decline of the 1960s.

He was born in Plymouth on 22 March, 1914, making him the second oldest member of the House of Lords at the time of his death having become a life peer with the barony of Leyland in 1968.

In the same year he was made chairman of British Leyland, a prestigious position that would prove to be a 'poisoned chalice'.

He joined Leyland Motors in 1930 after leaving school, which he hated, at 16.

He rose from the ranks of apprentice and made his name as a salesman, marketing the company's famous lorries and buses around the world, rising to head Leyland's export business. In the 1950s he became a media figure, exporting London buses to Cuba.

But his chairmanship was ended in 1975 when the ill-fated company was nationalised and subsequently dismantled.

Lord Stokes of Leyland was described as forthright and resilient in the face of controversy and was respected for his fighting spirit against impossible odds.

He once described his time at the head of British Leyland as being like that of a man walking quickly in front of a steamroller, which eventually caught up.

He remained on the firm's board, helping them avoid bankruptcy by arranging the government takeover.

He was made president, before retiring in 1980. He sat as a cross bencher in the House of Lords until his death.

Lord Stokes was married twice and his second wife, Patricia, who he wed in 2000 aged 86, survives him, as does his son from his first marriage, Michael. His first wife died in 1995.