Tony Blair pays tribute to former Downing Street aide and cancer blogger Kate Gross as she loses two-year battle with disease just minutes before her five-year-old twin sons woke up on Christmas Day

Charity founder Kate Gross, 36 (pictured left) who worked under two Prime Ministers early in her career, died peacefully at home in Cambridge yesterday. Her mother announced her death at 6.29am, just ten minutes before her sons Oscar and Isaac asked: 'Is it morning?' As well as founding charity Africa Governance Initiative, which has helped in the fight against Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Ms Gross documented her battle with colon cancer on her blog. And former prime minister Tony Blair (inset), who is a patron of the charity, led tributes to the mother-of-two, calling her a 'fabulous colleague' and a 'dear friend'. He said: 'Kate's death at such a young age is utterly tragic. My thoughts and prayers are with Billy, the boys, Kate's parents and her many friends.' Her memoir (right) comes out on January 15. Daily Mail..