Housing scheme to honour Sheila McKechnie

A foundation devoted to housing is being planned to commemorate Dame Sheila McKechnie, the late director-general of the Consumers' Association, who died in January.

A foundation devoted to housing is being planned to commemorate Dame Sheila McKechnie, the late director-general of the Consumers' Association, who died in January.

At a celebration of Dame Sheila's life, held yesterday at Central Hall, Westminster, the television journalist Jon Snow announced that the foundation was being discussed by friends of the late campaigner. Details will be announced soon. Before leading the Consumers' Association, Dame Sheila was director of Shelter, the housing charity.

More than 500 people from politics and the consumer and housing movements attended the hour-long meeting. They heard speeches in praise of Dame Sheila from six speakers. Among them were Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, and one of his predecessors, Lord Howe, who is now president of the Consumers' Association. Other speakers included June McKerrow, a colleague of Dame Sheila at Shelter, and the MEP and Consumers' Association director Philip Whitehead.

Mr Brown said: "She showed neither fear nor favour, as I was to discover after I entered government in 1997." Lord Howe said: "She shared many qualities with Margaret Thatcher, such as a formidable capacity for hard work and the vision and determination to turn their beliefs into practice. But while it will surprise no one to learn I could never have loved Margaret, it would have been all too easy to have fallen in love with Sheila."

Dame Sheila died aged 55 after a long battle with cancer.